


The Game Rewritten

by Legendary_Map_Maker



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Arcana Swap (Persona Series), Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Canon Typical Violence, Gen, Let Sakamoto Ryuji Say Fuck, Long, NG+, New Game Plus, New Game+, Retelling, Retelling in an Alternate Universe, The Velvet Room (Persona Series), Velvet Room Attendant Persona 5 Protagonist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:34:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24870877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legendary_Map_Maker/pseuds/Legendary_Map_Maker
Summary: After her capture, Warden, the leader of the Phantom Thieves, is interrogated by Japan's Prime Minister, Masayoshi Shido.An alternate timeline in which Lavenza Amamiya is framed for assault, put on probation, and sent to Tokyo. Something is off, but neither the cryptic usurper of the Velvet Room nor the red demon serving as Warden's mask are willing to explain why. The usurper is more concerned about a game of ruin, and the demon is more concerned about reuniting with his other self.[This story is an alternate universe featuring many arbitrary swaps. Some changes have been made to the main story as well to accommodate the swaps or to minimize the use of minor characters. Swaps are not exactly one-for-one, such as is the case of the first palace.]
Comments: 26
Kudos: 32





	1. Whims of Fate

**Author's Note:**

> This story is an alternate universe featuring many arbitrary swaps. Some changes have been made to the main story as well to accommodate the swaps or to minimize the use of minor characters.
> 
> The following is a full list of swaps (that have been mentioned in the story so far). Please skip if you would rather be surprised:  
> -Joker and Lavenza  
> -Shido and Sae  
> -Sojiro was not swapped  
> -Igor and Yaldabaoth  
> -Maruki and the Principal  
> -Iwai and Kawakami  
> -Kamoshida has been removed  
> -Ann and Ryuji  
> -Newspaper Club Member and Mishima

Japan's Diet Building stood atop a cruise ship, about to raise anchor and leave the adjacent docks of a sunken Tokyo. However, rather than the staff and guests celebrating their departure, they were gathered sharing hushed whispers and rumors. Although it was difficult to tell fact from fiction, it was believed the infamous Phantom Thieves had infiltrated the vessel. They had sent their calling card to the captain just the day before, so security was on high alert.

Despite all precautions, the intruders managed to circumvent the guards and were making their rounds through the ship. Every deck had to be swept thoroughly for even the slightest trace of them. The passengers of the ship were gathered into the halls and upper decks---any wide open area where security could keep a few eyes on them. Anyone resistant to these orders were apprehended as a suspected accomplice.

Everyone on the ship, both staff and guests, wore a mask. There were various styles, but they always covered at least the eyes. With no way to gauge the thoughts and emotions of their fellow man, a stagnant air of distrust settled on the ship. They all looked sideways at each other with contempt. Only the guards had descriptions of the Thieves' appearances, so everyone else was left second-guessing any stranger they set their eyes on.

Such as a shadow skirting along the roof of the Diet Building.

Those on the pool deck could see them move in the darkness of the setting sun. Masked security guards in suits caught sight of the figure and converged on their position, holding their police batons at the ready. One armed with special assault armor and a gun fired at the figure, startling the passengers around him. The figure jumped down from the roof to the upper deck and landed unharmed. The black brim of their blue hat obscured their face before they looked up at the ship's security.

The short figure was definitely a Phantom Thief, but they didn't look like most would expect. They appeared to be a platinum-blond young girl dressed like a prison-guard. She wore a blue collared shirt with a black tie. She had black shorts, and a black brassard was wrapped around her left arm. When not blocked by her hat, her face was covered by a mask of her own; a black butterfly with golden decorations, such as a gold “V” between the eyeholes. Also in gold letters was an English word on her hat: “ _OXYMORON_.”

It was clear whatever she was after, she had already found it. She had a large bag over her shoulder, likely carrying goods stolen during her excursion. In her hands she held the tools she used to do it: an extendable electric baton as her weapon in one and a clipboard as her shield in the other. The clipboard had “ _Le Grimoire_ ” faintly written on its outward facing side with a “V” symbol similar in design to that on her mask just below. On its inward facing side, there was a handle which reached from one end to the other, covering its pages of indiscernible shapes.

She gave the guards a brief bow, her right arm brought in front of her. “Looking for me?”

“It's a Phantom Thief!” shouted one of the guards.

The elite guard fired again, and the girl blocked with her clipboard. “What are you waiting for? Get her!”

The girl ran to her right, swatting any guards who approached her. More bullets were fired her way, but the elite guard's aim proved subpar. She stopped at the railing and looked over the edge of the boat nearest the docks. The wooden walkways seemed to sprawl infinitely into the horizon, fading into the faint shade. Some buildings seemed to rest on the docks, rather than drown within the submerged city.

“Where are you going to go?” asked one of the guards. “All you can do is jump.”

“I would thank you for your suggestion...” began the girl, a neutral expression on her face, “...had that not already been my plan.”

In one swift motion, the Phantom Thief threw herself overboard. The guards were left astonished as they rushed to see where she landed; it wasn't her they were worried about, but whatever she held in her bag. When they looked over the edge, they saw a broken window two decks below, and a little girl waved at them with a gloved hand.

The elite guard pulled out his radio. “A Phantom Thief spotted on upper-deck 5: it's the little girl. No sign of her teammates. We can confirm she is indeed armed; use lethal force if necessary.”

“That spectacle aside, Warden, you had best be wary. There are many foes in the area,” a boy's voice warned the leader of the Phantom Thieves.

Another voice came through her earpiece. A girl agreed. “Fox is right. Though, I guess that was the plan, wasn't it, drawing their attention like that.”

Warden stood atop broken glass. To her side was the wreckage of a table and its two chairs. She was in a bronze hallway on the fifth upper-deck of the ship. Like all the others, it was accented extravagantly with gold, or as Warden preferred to think of it, pyrite. There were a few other tables and chairs in the corridor, but fortunately no people. Two doors enclosed both ends of the hall.

Through the doors on her left, Warden heard the playing of a piano. It was clearly an improvised song, but it wasn't bad. There was a feel to it Warden appreciated, that she appreciated about all piano music. It also wasn't the first time Warden heard it, but unlike then, she didn't have time to stop and take it in. Right now, there was something else she needed to take.

She checked the bag she carried with her, its weight far less than one would expect based on its supposed contents. The plan was to act as a decoy for her teammates. Once they were safe, she would stop wasting time and go straight to the rendezvous. She just needed to not get caught.

“Warden!” Fox yelled through her earpiece. “An enemy draws from your right.”

She jumped below a table---one with all its legs and no tears in its cloth---and hid from the guard. She stilled her breathing as his footsteps marched by. She could hear him speak into a radio. “She came this way... I'll check the restaurant, we would've seen her if she went through the central hall... Understood.”

His footsteps quickened just as he passed her table. She heard him go through the doorway to the piano music. It slammed behind him.

As she got up from the table, Fox gave her instructions. “The restaurant would be an ill-advised route; there are many enemies there. There are just as many in the central hall, but they will be spread thin.”

“Yo, when are you gonna navigate for us, man?” asked another boy's voice.

“Patience, Panther. I am merely advising Warden so she can avoid unnecessary conflict.”

A girl's voice spoke next, a different one than that from earlier. “Ugh, there's so many of them. Seriously, do these guys ever give up?”

“We always could have fought our way through...” a third boy said.

“No we couldn't,” corrected the first girl. “Remember, we need to be undetected.”

From the end on her right, muffled propaganda came through the door to central hall. It spread false hope. It gave unreliable promises. It spoke of a bright future in which Japan would serve as _the_ powerful country all others would look up to. Nevermind it drowning in its own ruin while the wealthy lived unharmed on the Arc of Elite.

As much as the lies irritated her, this was the direction Warden went. On the other side of the door was a multistory room with a tangled web of stairs connecting the various floors through a large opening in the center. Electric lights resembling the cosmos danced up the walls. Indigo carpet reached from one wall to the other and encircled the countless golden pillars spread across the room. Many pillars were part of purple archway-like platforms bespeckled with similar lights as the walls. Lastly, dotted across the room were the very speakers the captain used to spread his lies.

The room held many passengers. Their reactions ranged from apathetic to suspicious, but none of them took any action against her.

This wasn't the case of the security. A guard dog with a visor over its eyes had noticed her as soon as she entered. It charged toward her unleashing a series of barks. It stood only a few feet away from her when it melted into the floor. From the puddle emerged the creature's true form: the Guard Dog of Hades. It had a massive white mane and a rat's tale. It growled at Warden, readying itself to pounce. All of this would have been a horrifying sight to most people, especially one as little as Warden, but this was far from the first time she had seen something like this.

If everything went to plan, neither would it be her last.

Warden's mask vanished, and before her appeared a well-dressed demon of black and red. He hovered in the air, but his wings were stationary. The monster spoke to her in a deep echo. “You shall soon walk the same path as my other self, little warden. While your future shall be painful, so long as you do not neglect our contract, I will stand by your side. Now, use my power, let us destroy all those who stand before us!”

The monster turned toward the Guard Dog of Hades. He awaited the command of the Phantom Thief. She glanced at the monster, then at the enemy. She swung her baton and pointed it at the Guard Dog of Hades. She pressed a button, and electricity crackled between its handle and tip. She commanded “Arsene! Megidolaon!”

The monster, Arsene, grinned. With a flurry of his wings and an outstretched hand, he summoned a massive blue explosion which enveloped and obliterated the enemy in front of them. Arsene laughed at the beast's demise, ignoring the horror of the passengers around them. “Just as I had lent you my power, you had given me a slimmer of your own. Until I am reunited with my other self, we shall be an unstoppable force together!”

The Phantom Thief nodded. Then, the demon vanished. Her mask reappeared, and she ran up the nearest staircase. A security guard in a suit waited at the top. One moment, he stood there holding his baton. The next, his body contorted.

His skin turned into a murky void leaking a shadowy mist. He stood hunched over yet taller than before. Behind her, blocking the bottom of the stairs, was a nearly identical guard. One look over the rail revealed, on the bottommost floor of central hall, dozens of security guards and dogs waiting for Warden.

“You have no where to run,” a guard said. “And we'll be ready if you jump again.”

Warden took a quick glance at the other floors of central hall. “It is strange how often you and your kind try to gloat, yet you have consistently failed to truly capture me.”

She vaulted over the stair railing and landed on a propaganda-spitting speaker. Its chatter only momentarily faded after the impact, revitalized just after. From there, Warden jumped to a purple platform then to another staircase and used the railing as a slide. Once on the next floor down, she ran for the nearest exit out of central hall.

This hall differed from the first in that, rather than a series of tables by each window, it had only a singular statue. Warden dived behind it, the march of pursuers only just drawing near. Multiple guards ran by, each assuring one another she wouldn't get away. One even boasted to know exactly where she was. Although, he could only have lied because he lead his companions into the next room.

“Warden,” Fox said, “we've managed to reach the rendezvous. We will await your arrival.”

“It was brilliant,” a third girl's voice said. “It is no wonder you Phantom Thieves have evaded capture for so long.”

Panther spoke next. “Hey, give us a little credit!”

“Not this again...” a fourth girl groaned.

Arsene's voice spoke to Warden, echoing inside her mind. “You know what lies ahead.”

“I am aware...” Warden answered. Despite her best efforts, she felt hesitant as to what would come next.

“If it must end, why not go out in style?” Warden knew full well what he had in mind. Arsene always advocated for the flashiest methods, even if they were unnecessary. Still, she should at least warn her teammates.

“I shall use the docks to reach the rendezvous. We will meet again once this is over.” Warden stood from her hiding place and broke open the window with her weapon. She jumped through the opening.

“How do you intend to-:” began to third girl. “Wait, is that Warden falling off the side of the ship!”

“Where'd be the fun if we told you all our tricks?” Panther asked, unconcerned.

Once again, Warden landed from a great height unharmed. This time, she had landed at the docks beside the ship. The rendezvous was at the bow, but there should have been no issue getting there from here.

Lights shined on her from the docks. A line of police cars and officers surrounded her. There must have been dozens of guards lying in wait, each equipped with riot shields, batons, and/or guns.

Fox spoke yet again. “Enemies here? Wait, no, that's preposterous!”

The third girl. “What's happening?”

The first girl. “Is she okay?”

“An ambush! She's surrounded!” Fox informed the others.

“Warden!” the first girl yelled. “Get out of there!”

“Capture her!” ordered an officer as Warden looked for somewhere to run. She knew she couldn't use Arsene's powers against them. It could kill them, and they weren't like the guards in the ship. Her only choice was to run.

“Is there anything we can do to help!” the third girl asked.

“Unfortunately not, Noir,” answered Fox. “But our leader has dealt with much worse. She will survive; that much is certain.”

Wherever Warden tried to run, the police were already there. Eventually, she could delay them no longer. Wooden planks rose up to meet her as she was pinned to the ground. One of the higher ranking officers walked up to her and mocked “Didn't expect to find some kid. You have your teammate to thank for this. You were sold out.”

Before she could process what he said, he had placed handcuffs around her wrists.

Warden was in police custody.

Her mind was fuzzy when she awoke in the interrogation room. Very fuzzy. Her thoughts were scattered. Her memory was struggling to...struggling to...she couldn't remember very much. As she forced her eyes open as wide as they could, which was little more than a squint, she noticed she no longer wore her Phantom Thief outfit. Instead, she wore her school uniform: a black blazer and a plaid skirt. She also saw a collection of empty syringes on the floor in front of her. What were they for...

“Guess the drug was too strong,” a man's voice said.

“Wake her up!” another voice said before she was splashed with water.

Now, she was cold, too...

She looked around the room. It was a dark, stone room. There was a security camera in the corner, and three men in suits stood near her. She tried to move her hands, but she couldn't. They were handcuffed behind her, behind the chair she was sitting in. She only just realized she was sitting in a chair.

Her wrists hurt. Her hands hurt. Her everything hurt. What happened...?

“You still don't get it, do you? Give it up!” The man in the middle kicked her. She and the chair crashed to the floor. Then, something hard---a shoe, it seemed---pressed against her head. “Come on, cooperate. Or what, you want another shot?”

She glanced at the camera in the corner of the room. She didn't think much of it. If it was of any use to her, it wouldn't have been in there.

“Huh? What about the camera?” Of course, the man noticed where she was looking. He pulled her head up by the hair. “Are you thinking it can be used as video evidence?”

“No...” was all she could manage to mumble. Even that took all her physical and mental effort.

“Good, you're not that stupid then...” Once again, the floor was quick to embrace her. But she preferred when it was wood, instead of cold cement.

The man walked over to his associate and took a clipboard from him. The man read from a list. “Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons... Manslaughter too, yeah? Talk about the works.

“To think that all those crimes were led by a little girl like this... For someone smart enough to skip a few years, these---” the man gestured to the list “---were some pretty dumb moves. You should know your place.”

 _Skipped a few years... did he mean school?..._ she wondered. She wasn't sure if it was her injuries or their drugs---probably both---but she couldn't even remember what year she was in, or what year she was supposed to be in. Also, weren't there laws or something against skipping grades in Japan?

She was pulled up by the wrists as the other man unlocked her handcuffs. He then pushed her back into the ground. The first man shoved the clipboard into her hands. Did she always wear gloves? “Sign here. It's a confession under your name.”

She held the clipboard, her eyes glazed as she tried and failed to read over the document. The man dropped a pen onto the clipboard. It clattered its way down until she caught it.

“Don't expect to walk out of here in one piece,” the man continued. His voice was beginning to irritate her. Unlike him, his colleagues hadn't said much. Did he enjoy the sound of his own voice that much? What she wouldn't give to shut him up... “We're going to make you understand: one must take full responsibility for their actions.”

She heard the man step away. Presumably, he was giving her a moment to sign the confession. She just had to write her name... Her name... Her name? Caroline? Justine? Warden? She struggled to remember even that much. Why were there so many names going through her head?

“Lavenza Amamiya...” a deep voice in her head seemed to say.

The given name seemed right, but the family name felt unfamiliar. Her mind too foggy to question it, she accepted the name the voice told her and attempted to transcribe it. All that came out was a jumble of scribbles. As she handed it back to the man, he mumbled that it was good enough.

Footsteps approached the interrogation room just as the police detective was leaving. His two associates remained outside the doorway, acting as its guards. The detective turned to the visitor. “Excuse me, this area is off- Shido-san!”

“Yes, I said I wanted to speak with the Phantom Thief when we caught him. We've caught him now, haven't we?” a bald man in a black suit and orange sunglasses asked, confidant in himself. He doubted they would decline _his_ request to see the suspect, especially when considering his rank.

“You have said that...” the detective acknowledged. “But I doubt this is within your jurisdiction. This is a very sensitive case, and her methods are still unknown. We don't even know if it's safe to be in the same room with her, especially after-:”

“'Her,'” Shido interrupted. “So it's a woman, then. I haven't even been informed of that much.” Shido looked at the man, an intense look in his eyes. He didn't care how dangerous the suspect was. He wasn't going to be defied. “Now, let me speak with 'her.' You know who I am. I will be treated with respect.”

An older detective came behind Shido. “Prime Minister, we got a call from the Prosecutor. She's approved of you speaking with the suspect, but only if you make it quick. We still have more information we need to get out of her, and this case won't build itself. You got a few minutes.”

Shido groaned. It figured he wouldn't get much time. Though he supposed he wouldn't need much either. Still, a few minutes... “That's all the time I need.” If it wasn't, he'd fix that issue later. “There are just a few things I want her to explain to me.”

The police detective smirked. “If it's responses you're expecting, then you may as well turn back now. She's not very forthcoming with information.”

“I'll be the judge of that myself, if you wouldn't mind.” Shido pushed passed the police detective and turned to the guards. “Now let me in!”

“Just do it,” the older detective told them. “The quicker he's in, the quicker he's out.”

A guard opened the door, but all Shido saw was a little girl in a school uniform. She sat at a table, beaten and bruised. Outraged, he shouted at the detectives “Where's the Phantom Thief!”

The police detective chuckled. “That is the phantom thief. Is it everything you hoped for?”

Shido narrowed his eyes at the detective. He didn't appreciate the man's disrespect. “Perfect,” was all he said before he entered the room. The door shut behind him.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but a little girl with a blue headband and yellow eyes wasn't it. The bruises on her face made it obvious they tried to force the information out of her. He shook his head at the bluntness of their methods. As he did so, he saw a few empty syringes on the floor. He knew truth serum was used in many cases, although he would never publicly admit it.

But all of its side effects were still unknown. Not to mention, to use so much on such a young girl... Even his cold heart couldn't deny it seemed excessive. After all, smaller bodies only needed smaller doses; it was just a waste of resources.

He pulled out the chair in front of him and sat across the table from the girl. He was certain he'd seen her before, but he couldn't recall from where. Not that it mattered, he just needed to know her methods.

Whenever he was asked why he was so curious about the methods of the Phantom Thieves, why he needed to know how they were able to change hearts or cause mental shutdowns, he had a few stock answers ready. His son was curious, and he was finding out for him. It was a grave risk to the country, and the public needed to know. To his closest confidants, he would even say he hoped to use this power for his own gain. But all those answers were merely part of the truth. In all honesty, he was just as morbidly curious as his son. The power to compel someone to confess to their own crimes, the power to incite a mysterious illness within people... it sounded like some kind of fairy tale.

Well, if anyone was going to give him the answers he wanted, it would be this girl here.

“Hello. Can you hear me?” The Phantom Thief looked up at him. Her eyes were unfocused. “Can you understand what I'm saying?” She nodded. “Good.”

He picked up an empty syringe off the floor. The girl shrinked back into her chair. There was concern in her eyes. “Don't worry, I'm not going to drug you like they did.” He dropped it onto the table. “But if you don't answer my questions, I will return the interrogation to them, and there will be nothing to stop them from doing it again; they are at liberty to use any means they please.

“I just need to know about your methods. What is this other world mentioned in the reports? How have you been changing people's hearts?” The girl looked confused at his question. “Perhaps the drugs are clouding your memory. Very well. Tell me what you do remember. Go one step at a time, either chronological or sporadic. Whatever it takes to remember your methods.

“It could even be a game. You win once all my questions are answered. Kids like you enjoy games, right?” She didn't do well hiding her annoyed expression. It seemed she could tell he was patronizing her, and she didn't like it. What did it matter? She was a criminal, about to be locked away for the rest of her life. She should savor this moment, the last time someone would treat her like a child. From then forth, she was nothing more than a dangerous terrorist. Another irritating bug crushed before it could become an infestation.

“I'll help you pick a starting place,” he said. “According to the reports, you first moved to Tokyo just under a year ago. Can you remember why?”

The Phantom Thief looked Shido in the eye and finally said something. “I was framed.”

It didn't really matter why Lavenza was crossing the road that day. She couldn't even remember. It's just where she happened to be during the incident. Beside her, also waiting for the light to change, were two random adults: a random man and a random woman. As each of them waited, cars zipped by at high speeds. Traffic was very dense that day, not as one would expect from such a small town.

“I believe you should withdraw your testimony,” the woman told the man. Lavenza couldn't remember the man from the incident very well. He was just another victim of circumstance like she was. But she could remember the woman. The woman who ruined her life, she was burned into Lavenza's mind.

The woman had ashen brown hair---if the woman were older, Lavenza would have thought it was gray. The woman wore a business suit combined with a turtleneck, and she stood in a stiff manner that made it seem as though everyone and everything was wasting her time, like she had business she should be doing. Yet aside from that, she wore a constant poker face, as if she always needed to hide what she was thinking.

The woman was not done speaking to the man. “Other witnesses in this case have been getting caught in accidents, or falling mysteriously ill. The same could happen to you if you're not careful.”

“Is that a threat!” The man looked at the woman incredulously.

“It's a warning!” the woman claimed. “Don't think I'm trying to stack the deck; I know I can win this case regardless of your testimony. I just don't think it's worth gambling your life away like this.”

“You might have everyone else wrapped around your finger, but you need to see someone who's not willing to put up with your bullshit.”

It seemed the man either didn't know or didn't care a child was listening. If Lavenza hadn't already skipped a few grades into high school, she would have just learned a new word. In all fairness, he may not have expected her to be listening. The only reason Lavenza was paying attention to their conversation at all was because there was nothing else going on.

“I will not withdraw my testimony. End of discussion.”

Indeed, that was the end of the discussion. Although, perhaps not for the reasons the man was expecting.

The woman briefly glanced around the area, barely moving her head as she did. For a fraction of a second, her eyes lingered on Lavenza. She was calculating something. Lavenza only wished she knew what it was sooner.

The woman pushed the man into the road. Lavenza reached out to try to grab the man, to try to save him from a fate he did not deserve, but the woman grabbed her wrist and twisted her towards her. She could hear the screeching of tires, the frantic honking of a horn. She even heard the man's yelp. All before a loud thud from metal crashing into flesh. She may have imagined it, but she could have sworn she also heard the crunching of the man's bones.

“What did you just do!” the woman snapped at Lavenza. She was accusing her. Lavenza was only confused, and she couldn't bring herself to answer. She wanted to ask the same question of the woman, ask if she really just tried to kill a man. “Look at what you've done!”

All eyes were now on them. Would they have believed her if she said something? If it was her word against the woman's, who would they have believed killed the man? A small child, or a renowned prosecutor?

It probably wouldn't have mattered. There was evidence to Lavenza's side of the story. A nearby business' security camera caught the incident. The driver could have testified. The man could have testified. But the court dismissed all of it.

The security footage was at a bad angle. No one could tell what happened in it. The driver was too stressed to properly recall the events. His testimony, while in her favor, was unreliable. The man was in a coma. When he finally woke up, he had retrograde amnesia.

In the end, it truly was Lavenza's word against the woman's. And in the end, the court sided with the woman.

She didn't know if it was mercy or a taunt, but the woman herself talked down Lavenza's sentence. She convinced them to consider that she was still a young, stupid girl, and it was her first offense. Rather than years in juvenile detention, Lavenza was to spend one year on probation in the woman's home town: in Tokyo.

Lavenza's parents were furious. Not at the sentence; no, that relieved them, both that it was shortened and that it would be far away from them. No, they were furious at Lavenza. They believed her story---at least, so they said---but they were furious with her regardless. They blamed her for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

After having already spent everything they had on the court case, they scoured their connections for anyone who would cheaply take care of Lavenza while she was in Tokyo. If they hadn't found someone when they did, some coffee shop owner an acquaintance of their's frequented, Lavenza wouldn't have doubted they'd have dropped her there without any support.

Lavenza couldn't help but think the entire matter was unjust.


	2. Tokyo Daylight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sojiro Sakura, owner of Leblanc, feels as though the entire world has shifted around him. He wastes his Sunday taking a little girl, not the teenage boy he was expecting, to meet the people who run Shujin Academy.

It was just another day of business for Sojiro Sakura at Leblanc, a quaint little café of coffee and curry. He had a sip of coffee as he considered different words for the crossword puzzle. He sat in his usual pink dress shirt and black apron. A couple of his regulars gossiped together about a train that recently derailed. At one point, they even asked for his opinion on the matter. He didn't have much to say. It wasn't really his place to stick his nose where it didn't belong. Which reminded him...

He did agree to take in some delinquent a while back. Wasn't he supposed to show up today, April 9th? He tried to remember what he heard about the boy. It was some kid named Ren Amamiya, a second-year who would be attending Shujin Academy while he was on probation in Tokyo. He was charged with assault, though supposedly it was to defend someone else.

Going out of his way to help someone like that was admirable, but the sad truth of the world was that messing with other people's business, even with good reason, only caused trouble. Sojiro learned to avoid doing that a long time ago. The middle-aged man hoped he could help Ren learn to do the same.

Leblanc's bell rang as a customer walked in the door. He glanced at them and noticed it was a young girl in a blue dress. The girl was also short. Very short. It didn't look like she was even four feet tall. Her height wasn't the only strange thing about her. Her eyes seemed to be yellow. Was that even a natural eye color? After he thought about it, he remembered reading somewhere that it was just a very rare one. He was curious why someone so young was in his cafe without their parents. He greeted her appropriately.

“I don't sell any cookies.”

The girl simply asked “Are you Sojiro Sakura?”

He set down his newspaper. “Uh, yeah. And... who are you?”

“My name is Lavenza Amamiya.” The girl gave a polite curtsy as she introduced herself. “I am to be in your custody over the next year.”

“' _Lavenza_ Amamiya'?” Sojiro wondered for a brief moment if he had had too much coffee. It was also then he realized the girl had a bag with her, likely carrying her belongings if her story was to be believed. But this kid wasn't anything like the description he heard. The first name wasn't even the same. He mumbled to himself. “There must have been a misunderstanding.”

Upon seeing the concern on Lavenza's face, he clarified “What I mean is, I must have misheard your name when they were telling me about you. Do you mind if I quickly call your parents to check a few things?” The girl nodded. He pointed to a random empty booth. “You can take a seat, if you'd like.”

As Lavenza sat down in a seat, Sojiro tried to figure out what to say to her parents. _Are you sure you didn't have a boy?_ and _What was her name again?_ were the first two questions he wanted to ask, but they were both too blunt and too strange. He glanced at the girl. He had wondered what kind of unruly kid would show up, but this was the last thing he had expected. Eventually, he decided on a question, and called the number he was given to use only during emergencies. Considering he had heard an exactly opposite description of this kid, he believed this counted as an emergency.

“So, your kid's here. I just need you to help me make sure they are who they say they are.” Understandably, they were a little annoyed by that. “Just, help me out on this. I probably won't call again until next year, okay.” They reluctantly agreed. He quickly glanced at Lavenza to make sure he gave an accurate description. “Okay. So... she's a short girl in a blue dress named Lavenza Amamiya. She's got blond hair in a blue headband that kinda looks like a butterfly. And... she has these black gloves that go all the way up her arm.”

Only after saying it out loud did he realize how strange her outfit appeared. Ironically, her school uniform would probably be considered more casual than her casual clothes. Her parents confirmed his description. After a brief thank you and apology, he hung up.

He turned to Lavenza. “Sorry, I just find it hard to believe a little girl like you committed assault.”

In a tone of thinly veiled anger that Sojiro would tolerate only this once, Lavenza said “I was convicted of it, yes.”

She implied she didn't actually do it, but he doubted they could have convicted someone like her without solid evidence. She didn't seem like the kind of person to commit assault. What was the story about that?

Sojiro pushed that thought aside. That would be snooping into someone else's business, and that's exactly the kind of behavior he disapproved of. He hasn't had any problems in the last few years, and he wanted to keep it that way. Well, there was the issue with when Wakaba... Wakaba... What happened with Wakaba?

As far as he could remember, the only thing that happened with Wakaba is that she's become more engrossed in her research. He doesn't think she's even stopped by his café in a couple years. At least Futaba's visited now and then.

He returned to reality and remembered he needed to show Lavenza to her room. Patiently and quietly, she waited in her seat for any further instruction. Even if she wasn't who he was expecting, he needed to remember she was still a delinquent. Her attitude earlier only confirmed as much. He turned toward the stairway in the back of the café. “Follow me.”

Once upstairs, he gestured to the dusty attic and said “This is your room. I'll at least give you sheets for your bed.” He turned to Lavenza. She looked across the room with a calculating expression. She also let out a small sneeze. “You look like you wanna say something.”

“No, it's nothing,” was all she said.

“It's on you to clean up the rest. I'll be leaving after I lock up each day; you'll be alone at night, but don't do anything stupid. I'll throw you out if you cause any trouble.” Maybe he was being a little hard on her, but he knew that when he prepared this short speech. He hoped this would help discipline the troublemaker he had to take care of: teenage boy or little girl, they needed to be brought in line either way. “As I mentioned before, I got the gist of your situation. You committed assault against someone, and maybe you shouldn't have gotten in trouble for it. But that's why you gotta keep out of other people's business.”

Lavenza seemed annoyed by what he said. He added “And you should probably do better at hiding your frustrations. There's a lot of people more insistent than me on demanding respect. You got it?”

Lavenza took a deep breath, cleared her facial expression, and nodded.

“Your parents got rid of you for being a pain in the ass, so the least you can do is minimize how much you gotta inconvenience me, okay?” Once again, Lavenza nodded. “And it's best you not talk about anything unnecessary. I am in the restaurant business, you know?” Another nod. “Behave yourself for the year. If nothing happens, your probation will be lifted. Cause any problems, and you'll be sent straight to juvie.

“We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow,” he added. He noticed the confused expression on her face. “Shujin Academy---the school you'll be attending.” Mentally, he wondered how someone as young as her was already in high school. But once again, none of his business. “We'll introduce ourselves properly to the staff there. There's rarely a place that'll accept someone like you, you know.” He couldn't help but grumble. “What a waste of my Sunday...”

Was he being a little rude? Perhaps. But again, he was dealing with a delinquent. He had to make sure she knew the boundaries so she could stay well within them. If she set so much as a toe out of line, she'd ruin what little she had left of a normal life.

He then pointed to the box in the middle of the room. There was just one last note he needed to make. “Your 'luggage' arrived a little while ago. I brought it up here for you.” Without even a chance for her to thank him, he went back downstairs.

No new customers had arrived, so he went to wiping the tables clean. Soon, he'd have to head home and check on his daughter. No, wait... That wasn't right. He didn't have a daughter. Yeah, he had a son. Well, it wasn't really his, but after his previous guardian was arrested, the kid needed somewhere to stay.

That was one of the few times he had seen Wakaba in the last couple years. Shortly after the boy's guardian was arrested, she brought the boy to him and asked if he could take care of him until he was old enough to take care of himself. Something about the way she spoke, it seemed as though Wakaba felt responsible for his guardian's arrest.

Of course, Sojiro doubted Wakaba was to blame. The man willingly confessed to plagiarizing artwork. How could she have been connected to that?

Sojiro was pulled out of his thoughts by some noise coming from upstairs. He was just about to head up there to see what's up when a customer walked in. Then another shortly thereafter. And another after that.

And thus the cycle repeated until closing time. When he finally checked the attic, he noticed a distinct lack of dust. The room had been cleaned, and he hardly recognized it at first. Meanwhile, Lavenza stood in the center of the room, admiring her hard work. She actually looked kind of proud of herself. “What the heck? I heard you making all sorts of noise up here but I didn't think you were cleaning.”

After a glance around, he noticed how spotless the room seemed to be. _Even he didn't clean it this well,_ he thought. He then wondered who this mysterious “he” was. Regardless, Sojiro couldn't help but compliment her work. Positive reinforcement is very effective, they say. “Actually, the place doesn't look too bad.” Of course he couldn't be too nice about it. “Though it's only natural you'd want to keep your room tidy.” Then, to make sure she would be rested enough to behave tomorrow, he added “Why don't you go to bed for tonight? You don't have anything better to be doing, right?”

“I suppose not,” Lavenza agreed, her good mood unharmed. “Perhaps I could clean downstairs as well.”

“'Downstairs'? What's that supposed to mean?” Sojiro thought he worked hard to keep his cafe clean. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but it wasn't _that_ bad. Right?

“Oh, um...” Lavenza didn't seem to realize the rudeness of her statement until he pointed it out. “I mean no offense. There is nothing wrong with downstairs; I just wanted to offer help. Be less of a, 'pain in the ass,' as you put it.”

“Right,” was all Sojiro could say in response. “Well, I'm going to close up shop and get out of here myself. I won't be the one looking after you if you get sick from staying up too late, you got that?”

“I do. Have a good evening, Sakura-san.”

Sojiro was halfway down the stairs, but he felt there was a correction he needed to make. Even if he was trying to be an authority figure, there was an arguably more casual name he preferred. He called up the stairs “Please, call me 'Boss'. Everyone does.”

“Yes, Boss,” he heard echo back down.

Citizens trudged from one urban tower to the next, taking with them baggage of both their work and their lives. Cars and trucks carried people like cattle to the slaughterhouse, except they would only die a piece at a time at their destination. If their heavy footsteps and retching engines weren't loud enough, the small-talk they used to fuel their wills to live carried the decibels higher.

Lavenza knew a busy city like Tokyo would be much noisier than her quiet hometown in the country. However, its volume exceeded even those expectations. When she exited the subway system into the streets above, she initially had to cover her ears to block out the noise. Once she had gotten relatively used to the volume, she uncovered her ears and pulled out her phone.

Her parents had given her a phone just before she left her hometown. Having never owned one before, she was still trying to figure out its functions. What she needed it for now was to find the route to Sakura-san's home: where she would be staying for the next year. There was a navigation app on her phone, and while she didn't have much practice with it, she had already figured out how to use it. At least, so she thought.

It was showing her the route from the station to Sakura-san's home deep in Yongen-Jaya when a red eye symbol popped up in the center of the screen. Was it part of the app? Or did she already manage to install malware onto her new phone? No matter what she tried, it didn't seem to respond. After a minute of fiddling with it, the symbol grew in size. Lavenza was just getting more frustrated.

As she continued to mess with her phone, she felt as though something was off. More than just the symbol not responding, but also everything around her becoming quiet. Silent even. The infamously busy Tokyo had become mute. She looked up from her phone and saw a surreal sight.

The people of Tokyo's streets didn't vanish. She probably would have noticed sooner if they did. But the people weren't normal either. They were frozen, each and every one of them. It was as if she had wandered into a photograph, each person caught in their own little moment in time. Yet that wasn't even the strangest part. On the other side of the road, there stood a red demon engulfed in blue fire.

Just as soon as she noticed it, it was gone. She hadn't even a chance to take in anything other than its silhouette. Time resumed, and Tokyo's noise was back.

She was probably more stressed than she thought. She was even starting to hallucinate. She shook her head to try to clear it, then resumed her way to Sakura-san's home. She just needed make sure she got extra sleep that night. The insane delinquent: that's what they'd call her if she kept having these hallucinations.

She was initially dismayed when there was no answer at Sakura-san's home. She considered trying to use her phone, but she was hesitant to do so. She still hadn't figured out all its preloaded apps , and she didn't want to deal with the red eye again. Fortunately, there was a delivery woman there to point her in the right direction. It made sense the owner of a coffee shop would be working at his café in the middle of the day. It also made sense, she supposed after meeting him, that he wouldn't want someone convicted of assault to stay in the same home as him.

At first, she thought the attic was a storage room and wondered why Sakura-san felt the need to show it to her. After realizing it was where she would live for the next year, she decided to turn cleaning it into a way to take her mind off her situation. Although, she wasn't sure why Sakura-san was surprised by it. Didn't he recommend doing exactly that? After a day of traveling and cleaning, she was looking forward to a well deserved rest that night.

When she first awoke, she was surprised that the bed was somehow even less comfortable than when she fell asleep. She motioned to stretch with one arm and wipe the sleep out of her eyes with the other, but something resisted their separation. She forced her eyes wide open and shot up after she heard metal clanking in the space between her wrists.

She seemed to be in a prison cell lined with blue fabric, lying on a bed that would be more accurate to call a slab of metal. Rather than pajamas, she was wearing a black-and-white striped prison uniform. Her wrists were handcuffed together, and a ball and chain was attached to her ankle. As she stood up, she noticed the gentle music echoing throughout the room. The music helped her stay calm despite her concerning surroundings. The piano and vocals of the song, it was familiar... Nostalgic, even. She almost got lost in it.

Almost. The song didn't cancel out all of her concern: especially when she noticed a dark-haired boy twice her height standing outside her cell. He was looking away from her cell, staring off in the distance like some kind of sentry. However, he didn't look much like a prison guard. In fact, he looked more like a hotel bellboy. He wore a blue hat and coat and a pair of black pants. The outfit was also too big for him, by at least a size or two.

She followed where he was looking and saw an old man sitting at a desk in the center of an empty room. His wide eyes and long nose should have terrified most people, but just like the music, there was something very familiar about him. The old man in a black suit gave a sincere smile toward Lavenza. It was unnaturally wide, yet it was not creepy or sinister, just sincere. Somehow, it seemed a little sad, too. In a polite voice, the man said “Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear young lady.”

“'The Velvet Room'?” There were many questions going through Lavenza's mind. “Where am I?”

“As I've already said, you are in the Velvet Room.” The man chuckled, as if that should have been obvious. “This room exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. I am...its usurper, Yaldabaoth. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. Only those who have signed the contract are welcome, but an exception has been made in your case due to...circumstances.”

“Would that be that you are not the true ruler of the Velvet Room?” Lavenza asked. She knew what “usurper” meant: one who has taken power by force. Logically, if he was an usurper, then he was not supposed to be in charge of the Velvet Room. It was entirely possible he didn't even belong in the Velvet Room.

What was a Velvet Room, exactly?

Yaldabaoth's facial expression did not change. “The answer is both 'yes' and 'no'. Hmmm, a puzzling inquiry, isn't it? Suffice to say, all your questions shall be answered in due time. That is, if you do not lose first.”

“Lose? Lose what?”

“Over the coming year, you shall participate in a game. The price of failure would be not only your life, but the world would fall to ruin as well.” Yaldabaoth pointed to Lavenza. “As the Trickster, it shall be your duty to prevent this catastrophe.”

Lavenza felt compelled to glance toward the sentry. He just stood there, not looking at her. If he had any thoughts on what Yaldabaoth was saying, he didn't show it. Rage bubbled up from within her. Something about the usurper's name and the game he spoke of agitated her. The only person she could remember feeling a similar rage toward would be the woman who condemned her to Tokyo.

She jumped at the bars and asked “So that is why you have brought me here? I will not be toyed with, especially by you!”

Yaldabaoth's smile didn't falter, but he seemed hurt by what she said. “I brought you here for introductions, not to harm you. This place is to be a safe haven for the Trickster. Perhaps it would help to think of it as a neutral zone of sorts. The chess board at which both players meet.

“The you in reality is still safe and at rest in slumber. When you awaken, you may even believe this was only a dream.” The usurper shook a finger and chuckled. “But this is no dream. This is the first of your many visits to the Velvet Room. You will come here again, and there is much more for us to discuss.”

“I would never choose to come back here, back to you, _usurper_!” She laced the last word with as much venom as she could muster.

Yaldabaoth looked away from her for a moment. She started to think he forgot about her when the sentry finally spoke. It was only one word, hardly more than a mumble. “Usurper...”

“My apologies, I had nearly forgotten to introduce my attendant.” Yaldabaoth pointed to the sentry. “His name is Ren. He is a resident of the Velvet Room for the time being. How he shall serve you here will be explained another time. For now, it seems our meeting will be cut short by your awakening.

“It has been delightful to see you again. I look forward to our next meeting, when the time comes. Until then, farewell...” Yaldabaoth laughed yet again.

The last thing she heard before she woke up was Ren saying “Good luck.”

The Velvet Room faded from her vision as Lavenza found herself back in reality. She lay on the bed in the attic once more. It was still uncomfortable, but much better than the metal slab in her dream.

Some people believed dreams were a means by which secrets of the real world revealed themselves. Lavenza did not consider herself superstitious, but with the vivid dream still fresh in her mind, she didn't think it would hurt to speculate how such people would interpret her dream.

She didn't remember ever meeting anyone like either of the two men in her dream. Although, she did notice that, ironically, Ren bared a stronger resemblance to her parents than she did. Perhaps “they”---“they” being the people who inferred deeper meanings from dreams---would say they were two people she was destined to meet in the future.

She also thought about the “Velvet Room,” as Yaldabaoth called it. Judging by its name, the fabric lining her cell was probably blue velvet. Another major part of her dream was being trapped inside a prison cell in this Velvet Room. “They” would probably interpret that as connected to her false arrest. Lavenza knew her assault charge would follow her for the rest of her life, but it seemed she wouldn't be able to escape it even in her sleep.

It didn't matter. It was just some dream. Lavenza learned to stop believing in fairy tales and magic long ago. Any remaining belief in a higher power was squashed after she was sentenced.

She finished getting dressed for the day. She was trying out her new uniform for Shujin Academy, although she hoped it wasn't a violation of their dress code to add her headband and gloves. She then heard Sakura-san, or Boss as he preferred, arrive downstairs. She called out a formal greeting to him. In response, he called back “Sounds like you're up.”

She went downstairs to meet him. He had a hat on, and it seemed he was dressed for meeting people rather than for running his café. Instead of an apron, his pink shirt was covered by a white coat. Once he spoke, she remembered what he had said just the day before. “Well then, let's go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about your transfer. The school you're attending is in the Aoyama district.” He then paused a moment as he thought. “I can't give you a ride there, especially not every day. Would you be able to handle riding the train there, by yourself?”

“That is how I managed to arrive here in the first place,” Lavenza answered. She figured he was probably worried because of her age. She was sure she could take care of herself. People often said she was mature for her age; how else could she have handled becoming a high schooler so early? Passive aggressively, she added “Just as you asked, I will avoid being a pain in the-:”

“Alright, I get it,” Boss groaned. “And, a word of advice. Most people wouldn't take it too well for a kid to be swearing like that. Especially a delinquent.” A pause. “Anyway, it'll cost you a bit to ride the train there, and the route transfers are a pain. As I said, I can't drive you there everyday, but I can do it today. Now let's go.”

When they arrived, Lavenza saw that, aside from it's name being pronounced the same as the Japanese word for prisoner, Shujin Academy seemed like just a regular high school. Walkways and bridges connected two large stone buildings. A sign by its gate read its name. Before they walked inside, Boss gave Lavenza another warning to behave herself or be sent to juvie. He clarified this warning wasn't for her sake, but rather that'd he'd prefer it if she didn't cause him any trouble.

They found their way to the principal's office and were greeted by two men. The first man wore glasses, a lab coat, and a smile, and he sat at the principal's desk. The second man, standing beside the desk with his arms crossed, wore a black sweater and a gray coat. It was clear both men were in need of a shave, the first man more than the second.

The man in the lab coat was the first to say hello. “Good morning Sakura-san, Amamiya-san. It's nice to meet you both.”

“Uh, hi,” Boss responded. He looked at the name tag on the desk. “Are you Principal Kobayakawa?”

Both adults reacted to the mention of the principal's name; the man in the lab coat seemed saddened while the man in the sweater was frustrated. The man at the principal's desk corrected “No. I am Doctor Takuto Maruki, and this is Munehisa Iwai. I'm the councilor at Shujin Academy. Former-Principal Kobayakawa... stepped down, due to his involvement in a recent incident. I've been volunteering in his position until a suitable replacement can be found.”

“Incident?” Boss repeated. He groaned. “Oh, right. I think I heard something about that on the news.”

“I assure you, Sakura-san, there won't be a repeat of that so long as I'm in charge here,” Dr. Maruki promised. “All staff have been re-evaluated by a third party, myself included. There won't be another...” He glanced at Lavenza, clearly uncomfortable with finishing his original sentence in front of her. He started over, and quieter, he said “There won't be another 'Kamoshida.'”

“I'll take your word for it.” Boss thought for a moment. “Still, I didn't think councilors were next in line for principal...”

Mr. Iwai finally spoke. “Not really, but with re-evaluations, and getting ready for the new semester, I guess no one wanted to step up. I suppose if they _were_ willing to step up, we wouldn't have even had that incident in the first place...” Mr. Iwai let out a hollow laugh.

“I see,” was all Boss said. Lavenza did agree it was a little strange. Even if it would be more work, being principal gave some level of power. Wouldn't people want the position just for that alone? She also wondered what the “Kamoshida incident” was referring to. She'd likely hear about it soon enough, if it was still relevant. “Well, isn't there some paperwork I need to fill out or something? Not to sound impatient, but-:”

And so the three adults set out to whittle their way through a stack of paperwork. Lavenza just stood in the back of the office, waiting. To pass the time, she hummed the song she heard in her dream the night before. She was certain she heard it before. Maybe she could eventually find out where it was from...

“What are you humming?” a voice asked her. She looked over to the three adults. Mr. Iwai and Boss were still discussing the forms, but Dr. Maruki seemed to have broken away from their conversation. He was facing towards Lavenza. It seemed he was the one to have asked her the question.

“I'm not yet sure myself,” she answered. She figured there would be no harm in telling him, at least this much: “I heard it in a dream last night.”

“A dream, huh?” the doctor said. So far, he seemed like a pleasant person, but she was going to wait before she made any judgments. “You know, some people say there are deeper meanings to our dreams.”

“I thought you were a doctor,” Lavenza muttered in response.

Just as soon as she realized how rude what she said was, Dr. Maruki began to laugh. “I'm not talking about the meanings fortune tellers try to find. I mean... hmm, how about a simple example? If you're getting stressed in school, you might have a nightmare about missing the final exam. Right?”

Lavenza nodded.

“Exactly. So it's more that your thoughts about the world could be reflected in your dreams. If you don't mind me asking, what was your dream about?”

Even if she wanted to tell him about her dream, she wasn't sure where to begin. The calming music that was already stuck in her head? The usurper with the long nose? Or the sentry dressed as a bellboy? What about the game for which the whole world was supposedly at risk? She decided to simplify it, and she hoped he wouldn't ask for more details. “I was in prison.”

“A prison, you say? Where was it?”

What did he mean? “I'm not quite sure I follow...”

“Well,” Dr. Maruki began before adjusting his glasses, “sometimes, we view parts of our world as something other than what they are. Almost like our view of the world has been distorted. Oh! Distorted, that means-:”

“I know what distorted means.” She knew she probably shouldn't have interrupted him, but she didn't want to hear him define a word she already knew. People did that a lot for her. People often underestimated her. “What you're saying is, to recap for you-” and to prove she knew what he was saying “-there might be somewhere that I think of like a prison? Somewhere that is not actually a prison?”

“Exactly!” He seemed delighted that she understood the concept. “I was just wondering if this prison was anywhere in particular?

Lavenza thought about it. In her dream, she did ask where the Velvet Room was, but she was given no explanation. Well, it was said to be between dream and reality, mind and matter, but that wasn't a real place. “I don't believe so, no.”

“Well, let me know if that changes.” For some reason, Dr. Maruki chuckled at that. He then turned back toward Mr. Iwai and Boss. “Do you need any more help with that, Sakura-san?” he asked, referring to the paperwork.

“No, we're almost done.” Boss groaned again. “Since when was it this much work to transfer schools?”

“Well,” Mr. Iwai started, “there's a bit more added from the probation. Some of that was also about emergency contact, 'cause you're being her guardian for the next year instead of her parents. That's not even starting on all the complications of her skipping grades. I didn't even know that was possible...”

“Not usually,” Dr. Maruki said. “But there were special circumstances in her case when she did it a couple years ago.”

Mr. Iwai shook his head. Then, he looked down at Lavenza. Most people she met were taller than her, but he seemed to emphasize it with the way he glared at her. She could have sworn he also leaned toward her slightly, if only to add to his towering stance. “Now let me make one thing clear...

“I've dealt with troublemakers my whole life. Heck, I used to be one, too. Which is why I'm not gonna tolerate if you cause any problems. If you get kicked out, you won't have anywhere else to go, so I don't wanna have to do anything, but I will if I have to. I will allow _one_ slip-up.” He held up a finger for emphasis. “One. But after that, you're out of here. Understood?”

Lavenza refused to be intimidated. She stood on her toes, glared right back at the man, and with as much defiance as she could summon, she answered him. “Understood.”

Dr. Maruki seemed more intimidated then Lavenza. In an effort to deflate the tension, he asked Mr. Iwai “Um, don't you think you're being a bit harsh with her? She is just a kid...”

Mr. Iwai straightened his posture (she knew it! He was leaning!) and turned to Dr. Maruki. “If she's smart enough to be a second-year, then she can be treated like a second-year, too. Have you read what happened to the man she assaulted?”

“Yes, I have,” Dr. Maruki admitted.

Boss seemed confused, but how could he not know what “happened”? He was supposed to take care of her. Did he not read the whole agreement or something? “Wait, what are you guys talking about? I thought the man she assaulted was the one who sued?”

Dr. Maruki answered his question. “Hmm? No, someone else had to press charges in his place; the man was put in a coma. When he recovered, he was suffering from amnesia.”

“What!”

“I'm sorry, I would've thought you already knew...”

Boss sighed. “There was a miscommunication when I was told about her. It seems the details of the assault were also misunderstood...”

In their short time there, the fresh atmosphere of meeting new people at a new place turned into a cold one of distrust.

“Um, I'm sorry,” Dr. Maruki apologized. He sheepishly admitted “As you can probably tell, I'm not really good at this. Iwai has been helping me with a lot of my responsibilities as acting principal. It's actually part of why I assigned him as your teacher.” More confidently, he added “Therefore, I will stand by any of his decisions. He will be in charge of you for your time at Shujin, and he will have the final word in your case.”

Lavenza entered the meeting feeling as though she at least had Boss on her side. Leaving the meeting, it instead felt as though everyone was against her. Mr. Iwai quickly gave her her student ID, and that was the end of their meeting. Boss didn't say anything afterwards; he was even silent during the car ride back, only grumbling about the bad traffic. Apparently, a train had derailed the day before, so a lot of people were taking the roads instead.

When they returned to Leblanc, she tried talking to him. “Boss, I'm sorry you didn't know the details of my conviction...”

“Damn, to think there'd be that much traffic. What a waste of time,” he grumbled, brushing her off. To Lavenza, he then said “Remember, you're taking the train, starting tomorrow. And don't even think of doing anything stupid. Be glad your record's private, or you wouldn't even have your classmates to be sympathetic of you.”

“Boss, would it help to hear I was framed?” Lavenza asked.

“I don't wanna hear any of it!” he said. He fished a small book from his pocket. “I'm going home for the night, but I need to give you this.” He dropped it on the counter. “It's a diary; make sure you write in it. Despite your probation, there's no special limitations on what you do in particular. Besides following the law, that is.

“However, I'm obligated to report on you, which is why I'm having you record your daily activities.” It seemed he was about to say something else, but he was interrupted by his phone's ringtone. To a voice on the other end, he answered “Hey, what's up?... I'm about to leave right now. Don't worry, I'll be there in no time... Uh huh, I'll see you soon.”

He hung up the call. To Lavenza, he then said. “Well, I'm off. I'll lock the place up, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night. Oh, but don't mess up my store. If something goes missing, I'll turn you in myself. You got school tomorrow, so you'd better head off to bed, all right?”

He was halfway out the door before he turned back and said “And don't call me Boss.”

Lavenza picked up the diary and wondered how she would report on her first two days in Tokyo. Negatively, she imagined.

Iwai left the meeting drained. This new transfer student was going to be a headache. Sure, she didn't look like she could cause trouble, but he knew from experience how deceptive appearances could be. He figured she'd either be gone in two weeks, or she'd be there until her probation ran out. He wasn't sure which he preferred, but he knew which one a teacher was _supposed_ to prefer.

He had stepped outside to have a sucker when another headache stopped by. A boy with blond hair greeted him. “'Sup teach!”

“Hello Sakamoto-kun,” responded Iwai without making eye-contact. How the other teachers could tolerate this boy, he may never know. “What are you doing here? It's a Sunday?”

“Oh, y'know, going for a run. I just happened to swing by here when I saw you.” Sakamoto had a wide grin on his face. On one hand, Iwai knew Sakamoto was a troublemaker, so he doubted his story. On the other hand, he also knew Sakamoto was honest. Too honest, even. So he probably did just happen to be in the area. _Great..._ Iwai thought. In a whisper-ish voice, Sakamoto continued “So, about the transfer student... are the rumors true, did she actually commit assault?”

“You know I can't discuss a student's confidential information.”

“I'll take that as a yes!” After a brief laugh, he then asked “Okay, but it _is_ a girl, right? And she's gonna be in my class, so... is she cute?”

Iwai looked at Sakamoto with a disappointed expression. “She's half your age.”

“Oh... so the other kinda cute...like the little sister type.” Sakamoto seemed to realize something. “Wait, for real! How is someone that young a second-year!”

This time it was Iwai's turn to laugh. “She actually studies.”

“H-hey! That's a low blow, dude!”

Iwai just ignored the boy's comment. He knew it was a long shot, but at this point, he would take anything if it would get Sakamoto's grades up. Well, almost anything. “Also, I noticed you _still_ haven't dyed your hair back.”

“Yeah, and whatcha gonna do about it, you rotten adult.” Sakamoto grinned again, mischievously this time.

 _This kid really has no respect for authority. Not that I blame him, but still,_ Iwai thought. “I mean, with dress code violations, cutting class, and all the other trouble you cause, I could probably suspend you. Maybe even expel you.”

“You think the other teachers haven't thought the same thing?” Sakamoto asked. “But _I'm_ the guy who got rid of Kamoshida! With how much damage his arrest did to the school's reputation, expelling the hero who caught him would lose what little prestige Shujin had left.”

Iwai bit into his sucker, shattering it, and swallowed the pieces. He took the stick out of his mouth and decided to head back inside. He _was_ enjoying his break, but at this point, he'd honestly prefer paperwork and grading.

“Seeya tomorrow, teach!”

If he didn't know better, Iwai would have thought Sakamoto was taunting him.

Prime Minister Masayoshi Shido and his campaign manager were watching the news in the Diet Building. It showed them footage of the train derailing the day before. The two were silent, only taking in what they saw. Shido was furious with the incident. His rivals would try to pin the blame on him. Meanwhile, his campaign manager was trying to figure out how to turn it to their advantage.

The campaign manager broke the silence first. “It's less of an accident, and more a mistake from the company. Inspectors reported this would happen just six months ago, but the railway company _and_ the Ministry of Transport didn't do anything to fix it. It's both true, and it's the story we're going with.”

“How unsavory...” Shido mumbled, irritated. Not the way of using the event for his own gain; that was perfectly fine. What he thought was unsavory was how they allowed an incident like this to happen in the first place. “Those people are steering my beautiful country off-course.” The news continued, mentioning that the engineer in charge of the train was suffering from a strange illness, and that he was another in a long line of such cases. “Someone's doing this, but how, and why?”

“Sir, there's no proof of a connection between these illnesses,” the campaign manager pointed out.

“Don't be so naive,” Shido said. “Then why have so many of them happened to people in power. For all we know, I could be their next target.” He couldn't help but find something morbidly funny about that.

“Perhaps we should cancel your next speech, or at least postpone it.”

Shido gestured to the news, which was now listing casualties from the train crash. “Incidents like this are scaring the people. If I cower now, someone else will step up to rally them. It would be a mistake to give them such an opportunity. Especially with how fragile my career has become lately.”

The campaign manager sighed. “You chose to take the boy in...”

“I couldn't leave him out there. It would have been an even greater scandal if word got out that I abandoned him. Honestly, it was impressive how we managed to spin that story.” Shido laughed. His son should've been a blemish to his political career, but he and his campaign manager managed to convince the masses he was taking in an orphan with no where else to go. His relation to the boy, while never denied, was never confessed either.

“You're lucky it worked.” The campaign manager looked back to the news. It had since transitioned to an unrelated story about a researcher who announced a demonstration of her findings. “The boy has been working as a detective, hasn't he? Perhaps you can have him investigate your...suspicions. Maybe he can finally make himself useful.”

“An interesting idea. I'll consider it. Now, is there anything else for us to discuss?”

“I believe that was the last of it.”

The campaign manager and Shido shared their goodbyes. With a day of work behind them, Shido was on his way home for the evening. He was annoyed with his driver; even if he had no control over traffic, the man should've at least found a better route. Just before he could complain, he received a phone call from a known contact.

He answered it. “Why are you calling me so late, Okumura-san?”

“My father wanted me to give a message to you and Akechi-kun.” On the other end, it was a soft voice belonging to a girl known as Haru Okumura. “You are both invited to a dinner party he's hosting this Saturday. I hope this isn't too short of notice.”

Mentally, Shido checked his schedule for the upcoming week. His meeting on Saturday _was_ cancelled... “Fortunately, we have an opening. Though, sooner notice would have been preferable.”

“I'll be sure to tell my father that.” There was a pause from Okumura-san. “Tell Akechi-kun there'll be sushi; I know he'll look forward to it.”

“And he'll look forward to seeing you, too,” Shido commented. “Thank you for the invitation, we would be honored to attend.”


	3. King, Queen, and Slaves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lavenza's first day at Shujin Academy does not go as expected. She learns about a few classmates, but it seems they already know of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When this Chapter was added, I also added some revisions to Chapters 1 and 2. There is nothing major aside from a rewrite of the initial escape sequence. These revisions are what caused this chapter to take so long.
> 
> I would hope that there are no new issues, but it is always possible something went wrong in either the copy-paste process from the text file into AO3, or perhaps I overlooked something. On a sillier note, whenever I share my writing, I'm always paranoid I wrote something completely different by accident. Haha.
> 
> As always, feedback is always welcome, and please notify me of any issues you notice.
> 
> Without further delay, enjoy the chapter!

Lavenza was dressed for school with her bag slung over her shoulder. It was a big bag for someone her age, but she wasn't taking classes for her age, either. She tried to figure out the route to school using her phone as she went down the stairs. She had just walked by Sakura-san when he asked “Oh, so you actually are going to school?”

She put her phone away and greeted him. “Good morning, Sakura-san. Yes, I am.”

“Here, I'll feed you. It didn't look like you'd made breakfast yet.” He pushed a bowl on the counter toward her. Inside was a pile of rice drowning in some sludge. There were some red chunks along the edge. Lavenza would confess it had an appetizing scent. “It's curry, in case you didn't know.”

Come to think of it, he was right that she hadn't had breakfast. She wondered when she last ate. She didn't remember to make dinner yesterday. Or breakfast... As she took the bowl of curry and sat at the bar, she wondered how she could have forgotten to eat the last couple days. Don't humans die without food? It should be instinct, right?

She already had a few thoughts on the dish after one bite. First, she would've liked it a little sweeter, but that was just her preference. Aside from that, it was pretty delicious. And pretty hot: both in temperature and spice. The fresh ember she stuffed into her mouth sent the conflicting message of tasty-and-painful. “Um, thank you, it's delicious, but it's also... it's... hot. Hot.”

“Can't handle spicy, huh?” He gave her a glass of milk and added “This'll help. Just make sure you finish it before the customers start coming in.” She thanked him for the milk, and after she finished, she thanked him for the curry, too. “Huh, turns out you do have manners after all... Hurry over to school. You'll end up late if you get lost on the way.”

On her way to the station, she was determined not to get lost.

She finally made it to Aoyama-Itchome, and it began to rain. At first, it was a light sprinkle. Then, the drizzle turned heavy. Soon, all still at the rain's mercy were soaked to the bone.

Lavenza stood under an awning, protected from the rain as she used the navigation app again. In retrospect, it was foolish to think she would immediately know her way there on the first try. She knew better than to talk to random strangers, but that stupid red eye made it awfully tempting. Just as before, it appeared on her screen and made it difficult to use any other functions.

After a minute of fidgeting, she discovered it to be another app preinstalled to her phone. Without hesitation, she deleted it, hoping that would resolve her issues. She didn't even have time to smile before the app was back. In fact, deleting it seemed to have opened it instead. How irritating...

“Shit, I forgot my umbrella...” a nearby voice said. She turned to see it belonged to a teenage boy with blond hair. Just like her, he was hiding from the rain, using the awning as shelter. She noticed he technically wore a school uniform, but its modifications couldn't possibly fit within the dress code. The black blazer was left unbuttoned, and he wore a yellow shirt underneath which screamed “ZOMG!” ( _What is zomg?_ she wondered.) The badge-shaped emblem on his jacket told her he also went to Shujin.

He was a student like her, and at the same school, too. It couldn't hurt to ask him for directions... “Do you know the way to Shujin Academy?”

“Wait, who said that?” The vulgar boy looked around.

“Down here.”

Eventually, he found her. “Oh wow, you're short. Are you a first year or somethin'? But wait, I still don't think I recognize you...”

She pointed to a pin labeled with the number two on her blazer. He had an identical pin on his own blazer. “Actually, I'm a second-year. I am the transfer student, Lavenza Amamiya.” She introduced herself with a curtsy. Her phone made a noise, but she ignored it. She was in the middle of a conversation!

“Oh, I heard of you! The name's Sakamoto. I'm also a second-year.” The boy jammed his thumb into his chest as another chime rang from her phone. “Yeah, I know a shortcut. Though, I'll wait for the rain to let up first.”

“Would you like to share my umbrella?” asked a nearby female voice. It belonged to yet another blond student in a Shujin uniform. What were the odds the first two classmates she met had the same hair-color? Just like Sakamoto, she had some changes to her uniform, but her plain zipped up sweatshirt seemed more reasonable than Sakamoto's zomg shirt.

“Totally!” Sakamoto threw a fist in the air.

“Not you. You wouldn't fit.” The blond girl looked at Sakamoto with narrowed eyes. She gestured to Lavenza. “I was talking to her.”

“Fuckin' harsh, man...”

The girl held the umbrella such that Lavenza could step under it without getting wet. She accepted the offer. “I am extremely grateful, ma'am.”

“Ugh, don't call me 'ma'am,' it makes me sound like an old lady. I'm in your grade!”

“My apologies.”

“It's fine. I think I know the shortcut he was talking about, follow me,” the girl said. She pointed down the street.

“Well,” Sakamoto called out as the two walked away, “I'll catch up with you guys later!”

Once they were well out of earshot of Sakamoto, the girl explained “I'd recommend staying away from him, if I were you.”

“Why so?”

“Well, he's been acting really weird lately. Ever since he got Kamoshida caught, he's been acting like...like... like he's overthrown the king of a castle-” another beep from Lavenza's phone “-and that _he's_ in charge of it now. Whenever he causes trouble, the teachers don't do anything because it'd be bad press to punish the 'Hero of Shujin.'” She groaned. “Uh, if it wasn't clear, the castle in my metaphor is our school, Shujin Academy.”

One last noise from Lavenza's phone. For a moment, she felt lightheaded. She wasn't sure why. She just assumed it had to do with going to a new school. She ignored it and continued her conversation. Annoyed, she said “I figured as much.”

The rain seemed to slow. Quickly, it went from heavy downpour to clear skies. The clouds were even beginning to part. In a sudden shift of emotion, the girl put away her umbrella and cheered “Finally, a sunny day! Maybe this headache can go away soon, too. Oh, we're almost there!”

At least, they should've been. When they finally arrived at Shujin Academy's location, a massive castle stood in its place. It's spires reached up into a purple sky, piercing through whatever clouds remained. The front of the castle seemed vandalized, with messages written on it in spray paint. They said things like “Under new management!” or “Now 110% troll-free!”

“What! But it's supposed to be, like, right here!” the girl shouted. She looked back to the alley from which they emerged. “Did we go the wrong way or something?”

“I do not believe so...” Lavenza pointed to a sign by the castle entrance. It said “Shujin Academy.” It was identical to the one outside the school of the same name, and aside from location, it was the only connection between it and their intended destination.

“Uh, maybe someone in there will know what's going on.” The girl grabbed Lavenza's hand. “We should try not to get separated, okay? Now come on, let's check it out.”

“I am not... okay, well I _am_ a child, but I'll be fine.” Lavenza ripped her hand away. A part of her thought she was too rude, but another part didn't care. Being nice didn't help with Sakura-san, why would it help with anyone else?

“If you say so...”

In the relative present, Shido was still interrogating a bruised and drugged Lavenza. Her story so far was slow and strange like upwards-pouring molasses. He was starting to doubt the effectiveness of the truth serum. First, she claimed she was framed. Next, she hallucinated about seeing some demon in a frozen Tokyo. Then, she had some random dream about going to prison. Lastly, she was suddenly in a castle with one of her classmates.

She would pay dearly if she was trying to waste his time.

“Your school turned into an old castle... do you think you're funny?”

Lavenza shook her head. “You said you heard about another world from the reports, did you not? This castle was in the other world.”

He hated to admit it, but she had a point. “Well, how did you get to this other world?”

Lavenza groaned. “Be quiet and listen! You've hardly given me any time to explain!”

“Watch your tone...” Shido narrowed his eyes. He wouldn't tolerate any insolence. “Fine. I'll give you more time to explain, but allow me to give you a reminder to make sure you stay on-topic.

“The first 'calling card' sent by your group was addressed to a Ryuji Sakamoto shortly after your transfer to Shujin. Days later, the teachers reported him giving sudden and out-of-character apologies to each of them. Not long after that, your second calling card was sent. This one addressed to the former principal of your school: a man once known as Head Teacher Kobayakawa. He too experienced a change of heart not long after; he confessed to his involvement in Suguru Kamoshida's crimes, in helping him dispose of evidence and quieting rumors.

“You've already mentioned meeting Sakamoto on your first day of school, but Kobayakawa was gone months before then. So why? Why was he your next target? And when you targeted him, how did you change his heart?”

Shido stood up and stared down at Lavenza. His hands were tightly rolled into fists. “How did you make him confess?”

The two walked through the main entrance. Torches and candles lit the room, and a large chandelier hung overhead. They appeared to be in a central hallway with two regal columns holding the room together. Behind the columns were two stairways connecting and diverging as they lead to an upper level. Along the wall, halfway up the stairs, was a painting of a man in medieval armor vandalized such that the face was entirely painted over. Devil horns were crudely added to the painting, as well as childish messages strewn across it trash-talking the subject.

“What is this place?” the girl wondered aloud.

“Perhaps it would be wiser to turn back?” A part of Lavenza didn't agree with that statement, but she felt compelled to say it nonetheless.

“Yeah, you might be right.”

“Who are you?” a voice called out from a nearby hallway. A large guard in gray medieval armor with a blue mask approached the two girls. He held a shield in front of himself in one hand and a sword behind him in the other. “What gives you the right to intrude the king's castle?”

“Wait, wait, wait!” The girl waved her hands in front of herself. “We were just wanting directions to Shujin Academy! We didn't mean to break into your...whatever this is.”

“What a strange costume,” Lavenza mumbled to herself, half-convinced this was another weird dream. Briefly, she fished out her phone to see if it would say where they were. After closing out of the stupid red-eye app, she saw the attempt was futile. “Hmm... No signal...”

Another armed guard arrived and approached them. The girl panicked more. In an attempt to dissuade them from harming them, she said “By the way, your costume is like, so cute. For a moment, I thought it was real!”

Yet more guards arrived. It was around this point Lavenza concluded this could be no more than a dream. It would explain the purple sky, the large castle, and the strange guards. It was for this reason, unlike the girl who screamed and struggled, Lavenza showed no resistance as the guards took them away.

They were locked in a cell deep below what Lavenza was now calling Shujin Castle. The girl paced back-and-forth while Lavenza sat on the wooden bed in the back, swinging her legs as they couldn't reach the floor. The girl then walked to the cell door and called out to the rest of the dungeon “If this is some secret camera show, it isn't funny! I think one of your actors almost broke my wrist! Aren't you supposed to bring us a medic or something!

“You can't film if I say brand names, right? Dr. Salt, 1UP, Starvicks...uh, what's that burger place, again? Big Bang Burger... Big Bang Burger!” The girl continued to string together a series of brands. When she ran out, she would repeat ones she had already said and start the loop again from the beginning.

“This is a very strange school,” Lavenza said between humming. The song from her other dream was rather catchy. “Although, I assume it is not always like this.”

“This isn't the school, it's some freaky nightmare! And how are you so calm!”

“It is as you said: some freaky nightmare. As such, this scenario and the danger within it are not real. Therefore, we have nothing to fear.”

The girl groaned. “Are you part of this camera show? No wonder you were expelled from your last school.”

Lavenza was going to ask the girl how she knew that, but she remembered this was only a dream, so of course she would know that. She was having so many strange dreams lately. First the dream in a prison, and now this dream in a dungeon. Could the next one please just be somewhere pleasant? A nice dream was all she asked.

She heard the approaching clunk of metal footsteps. She wasn't sure how many masked guards were on their way, but she could tell it was more than one. Eventually, four armed guards arrived at their cell.

And a king.

“S-Sakamoto?” the girl stuttered, confused.

Three of the guards wore the same armor they had seen earlier, but one was larger and wore gold armor. Unlike the three in gray, the golden guard didn't slouch. He stood up straight and tall.

Surrounded by the guards was a blond teenage boy in the same outfit Lavenza had seen him wear just moments ago, but there was an added royal cape and crown. Strangest of all, his eyes were glowing yellow. “Yo guys, check it out! I'm a Palace Ruler! Oh, also, it's King Ryuji, not Sakamoto. No need for such boring formalities!”

“Yeah, I'm not calling you that,” the girl said.

“Somehow,” Lavenza thought aloud, “your preferred name is both more and less formal than what she was already using.”

“Hey! Don't forget who argued against your execution!”

“Our what!” the girl screamed.

“Yes, intruder,” the golden guard said. He didn't even look at them. “King Ryuji has spoken in your defense, voiding your execution so long as you accept his offer.”

“Offer?...” wondered Lavenza.

Ryuji got close to the bars. “So... I'm building an army. In like, a week, we're going to attack some asshole and give him what he deserves. Either of you want in?”

“Are... Are you crazy!” the girl shouted. “And you'll kill us if we don't!”

“Well, no. Uh, to both of those. Of course I'm not gonna let my guards kill you guys! If you say no, you can just leave. But, come on Takamaki! We're attacking the old principal guy. Y'know, the one that let Kamoshida get away with all his bullshit!” Sakamoto held a fist in front of himself. “Don't you want revenge on that guy! Make him pay for what _he_ let happen!”

“Of course I want him to pay, but Sakamoto...” The girl called Takamaki paused. “If we go out and attack the guy, we'll just be causing more problems, not solving any.”

“Okay, so that's your answer.” Sakamoto brushed her off and turned to Lavenza. “What about you? You're that new girl, 'Mamamia,' right?”

“Amamiya, actually...” Lavenza corrected.

“Oh, right, sorry. I was up late last night playin' a bunch of Mario.” To her surprise, Sakamoto's apology sounded genuine. “Listen, I heard the rumors, you're a troublemaker just like me. We like to cause problems for the rotten adults who wronged us. And this Kobayakawa guy, he's wronged a lot of people pretty fuckin' badly! Because of him, Kamoshida got away with a lotta shit! He coulda stopped Kamoshida, but instead, he let him take advantage of kids like us. Hell! If Kamoshida were still here, he'd probably take advantage of you, too!”

Sakamoto took a deep breath, then continued with a grin. “Anyway, you want in?”

Lavenza stood up and walked to Sakamoto. Her frustrations were visible on her face. She looked him in the eyes, even standing on her toes to appear taller. She spoke sternly, as though she were a mother chastising a child. “Do not speak as if you know who I am. Unlike any rumors you may have heard, I am not a troublemaker or a delinquent. I was _framed_ for the crime of which I was accused! I do not wish to help with your scheme! Even if I did, I am on probation. If I cause any problems, I will be arrested, expelled, and sent to juvenile detention.”

“Fine... Guards, let them go.” Sakamoto groaned and backed away from the cell. The guards didn't respond. The statues merely stood there. “Uh, guys! I'm the king, so you do what I say. And the king says: let 'em go!”

“The intruders are to be punished,” the golden guard said. He nodded toward the other guards and motioned to the door.

“No, no they ain't!” Sakamoto tried to pull one of the guards away, but he effortlessly shook him off. “I'm the king! I said don't hurt 'em, so don't hurt them!”

“The king is unwell. Take him away so he may not disrupt our execution,” ordered the golden guard. A gray guard wrapped his arm around Sakamoto. He dragged him away, ignoring his thrashing and cursing. “Now, kill the child first.”

“Yes sir,” answered one of the lesser guards. The other unlocked and opened the cell door before they entered.

Lavenza confessed this dream felt far more vivid than most dreams did, and she started to panic as though it were real. It was only a nightmare, she shouldn't worry. She'd probably wake up any moment. So why did she wrap her arms around herself so tightly, as if concerned she may physically fall apart?

As the two guards closed in, she prayed to wake up soon.

“Which kid? I'm a kid, too.” Takamaki stood defiantly between Lavenza and the guards. Takamaki assured the scared girl behind her. “I won't let them hurt you.”

Lavenza made no objections to this. Although, she felt guilty that this were true.

“If you so insist,” began one of the gray guards. He swung his blade at Takamaki, fortunately only hitting her with the blunt side. As she crashed into the wall, Lavenza cried out for her.

“Takamaki-san!”

“I'll be fine.” She didn't look fine; she looked injured, collapsed on the floor as she was. “Run! While they're busy with me!”

A part of her said to run. Takamaki was right; they were distracted, and if she waited any longer, then they would kill them both. On the off chance this was real, she needed to survive. Another part of her said to try to save her. This felt too real to be a dream, no matter how strange it was.

And if it was real, she couldn't leave someone to die. She failed to save that man, but at least she tried, and she failed to save... to save... the memory was just out of reach. Regardless, she wasn't going to abandon Takamaki. Not without some kind of fight.

“Have you come to a decision?” A migraine struck her. Lavenza's legs weakened, and she fell to the floor. What was that voice? It was deep, and it echoed inside her head. She heard it before, but from where? “Are you forsaking her to save yourself? Death awaits her if you do nothing. Is helping her a mistake?”

“No, it's not,” Lavenza told the voice. On this, she felt no disagreement from within herself. Not anymore.

“Then will you play this unjust game? Attempt to catch lightning in a bottle yet again? Will you risk everything! If thou art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice, then vow to me! Swear your blood oath!” The voice was getting louder and louder. “Until I am reunited with my other self, I will lend you my power! And you will use this power, destroy any enemies in our way, even if it drags you through hell itself! Swear it!”

“I swear...” Lavenza uttered with what little strength she had left.

“I have heeded your resolve. I am thou, thou art I. Call upon my name, and release thy rage!”

The migraine grew until her whole head throbbed in pain. It was as though her very mind tried to twist against her. Despite this, she did not feel nearly as weakened as before. She was able to stand back up, and she saw very little time had passed. Also, a light weight had appeared on her face...

“What is taking so long?” the golden guard complained. “Execute them! We've still another intruder to catch!”

“No.” Lavenza glared at the golden guard. “You have caused enough issues.”

She brought a hand to her forehead. The weight on her face was some kind of domino mask. It was stuck on, as though it were a part of her just as skin and bone would be. Like ripping off a bandage, she peeled the mask in one swift motion. Removing the mask caused a shock wave which knocked the lesser guards off their feet. Meanwhile, the golden guard was pushed back, his boots scraping against the stone they were dug into. She ignored the pain of removing the mask and shouted “Arsene!”

The white mask evaporated in her hands, turning into a blue flame. The flame grew until it took a form of its own. Towering behind her at many times her height, the fire took the form of a large demon with a fiery face and horns. He wore an old fashioned red suit with a black corset around his waist. Between the corset and his neck was a white ruffle tie. With one of his clawed hands, he reached up and adjusted his tall black top hat. He cackled a maniacal laugh as he billowed his long wings, revealing the ghostly chains floating around both his and Lavenza's feet.

“I am the pillager of twilight: Arsene!” He turned to Lavenza and explained “I am the rebel soul from my other self, but until such time that he and I may come together again, I shall reside within you. I can grant you the power to break through this crisis so long as our contract is upheld, so long as you have even an ounce of rebellion to your own name.”

Takamaki cowered in the corner of the cell. “A-another monster? And, what's with that weird outfit!”

“I have already taken your vow,” Lavenza told Arsene. Without noticing having acquired it, she lightly swatted a baton against the palm of her empty hand. “I will uphold the terms of our contract, but you must help us leave this place.”

“Who do you think you are?” the golden guard asked. He pointed to his subordinates. “You two, kill her first! Use your true forms if necessary!”

The lesser guards dissolved into the floor. The resulting puddle then splashed back up, forming for each a pumpkin dressed as a witch holding a lantern. The Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniacs had a permanent grin carved into their faces, with an orange glow leaking from their eyeholes.

Arsene laughed. “What nostalgia! Now, detest the enemies before you. Use that animosity to fuel your power, and unleash it!”

It was almost instinctual. She felt a connection to the demon, as though he was now a part of her. And within him, she felt a power. A power she could use. She pulled on this power, _Maeiga_ , and Arsene knew how to handle it from there.

He lay a hand on the ground, and a pillar of darkness emerged from below each Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniac. The darkness consumed the pumpkins, leaving nothing behind as the pillars vanished. While his face wasn't visible, the golden guard's concern was clear through his body language. Three new puddles appeared. From these, three new monsters: two more Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniacs and one Dirty Two-horned Beast. The beast was a dark horse with a white tail and two green horns. “Don't let her get away with this! Seize her!”

“Swing your weapon!” shouted Arsene, clearly eager for more battle. “These Shadows are so weak, I expect they would perish from even the lightest touch!”

Only after he pointed it out did Lavenza notice the extendable baton in her right hand. On it's handle, it had a button which probably served some purpose. Under her left arm, she held what appeared to be a black clipboard. On the side facing her, she saw it had the words Le Grimoire on it above a fancy V symbol surrounded by a circular pattern. She also noticed her outfit was entirely different, a mix of black and blue and red she didn't have time to decipher.

One of the Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniacs approached Lavenza, readying itself to swing a lantern at her. She swung at it with her baton, shattering it on contact. Its “weapon” destroyed, it tried to charge at and tackle her. She struck it with her baton again, accidentally pressing the button on its handle as she did. A jolt of electricity surged along the baton, shocking the monster. Defeated, the monster collapsed into the ground where it melted, the puddle slipping away through the bricks' cracks.

“Kill them however you like!” Arsene cheered. “Run wild to your heart's content!”

A grin surfaced to Lavenza's face. “I've barely started.”

“Idiots! Can't you kill at least _one_ kid?” the golden guard asked. A loud blast echoed from down the hall. The golden guard, frustrated, yelled to his subordinates “We do not have the time for this. I'll trust you to finish it. I must see how the others are handling the first intruder.”

The golden guard marched away as the Dirty Two-horned Beast lunged at Lavenza. She tried to block it with her baton, but it wasn't enough to absorb the hit. She dropped her weapon as she was knocked away; it landed some distance away from her. Meanwhile, the clipboard landed beside her, paper-side up. The paper had only scribbles on it, but the ink squirmed on the page, changing shape and form. The monster continued its charge. With nothing else to stop it, Lavenza held up the clipboard as a shield with both hands. The monster's horns were stuck on the clipboard, unable to pierce it.

“Arsene!” she called out, pulling on the magic inside him. She heard his laugh as he again used the power of _Maeiga_.

The pumpkin could be heard giving its last yell from the other side of the room, and the beast cried out as it was consumed by a pillar of dark. Unlike before, it was only weakened when the pillar vanished. It growled as it tried in vain to break through the clipboard again. Lavenza could only wonder what that clipboard was made of.

As the Dirty Two-horned Beast reeled back to charge, Lavenza swatted its head with her clipboard. Hoping this would disorient it long enough, she got up and made a run for her weapon. She held down the button that charged the baton. The monster lunged at her, and she swung the electric baton at it. Once again, it wasn't enough to stop it entirely, but it collapsed and melted from the damage just before it hit her.

With all threats dealt with, the room became much more still. Lavenza allowed herself a breath of relief.

Still powered by adrenaline, Lavenza took a look around the cell. Takamaki got up while Arsene laughed. “Excellent. Together, we have finished-:”

“Shut up!” Takamaki had taken off her shoe and pointed it threateningly at Arsene. “Don't hurt her.”

“Takamaki-san,” Lavenza assured. “He helped us. Without his aid, I doubt we would have repelled them all.”

“Do not sell yourself short, little warden,” Arsene said. He was speaking to Lavenza, but she wasn't sure why he was calling her a warden. “You were quick to harness my power. You remind me of him... at least, in that respect.”

“I am not sure what you are talking about,” Lavenza said. “And why am I a warden? If anything, I would expect to be a prisoner.”

“Have you not noticed your change of attire?” Arsene asked.

“Okay, good, you see it, too,” Takamaki said. “I thought I was imagining things.”

“So you say to the floating demon you hold at shoepoint,” Arsene commented. He pointed at the weapon in Takamaki's hands. With a long laugh, he added “I would hope you find a better tool to specialize in.”

“I will agree with that.” Lavenza didn't doubt they would encounter more guards on the way out. Maybe they could try to take one of their swords before it melted? “Now, what is this you are saying about my attire?”

“You look like a prison guard. Kinda...” Takamaki said.

Lavenza looked down at her clothes and agreed with that assessment. Instead of the school uniform she put on that morning, she now wore a blue prison guard's uniform. However, the long, dark coat and red gloves she wore seemed to clash with this descriptor. “When did my clothes change?”

“It is the manifestation of your rebellion,” Arsene answered. “After having awoken to my power, your clothes have changed into your image of a rebel. In such apparel, you are empowered by your own will. However, I will take credit for a portion of it; your mask and coat seem to have been influenced by my presence. My other self wore an outfit not dissimilar in those aspects.”

“Why does your hat say ' _oxymoron_ '?” Takamaki asked, the last word said in English.

Arsene reached for Lavenza, and when he pulled his hand away, something left her head that she hadn't even noticed was there. In his clawed hands, he held a blue hat with black wrapped around the base. On the front, which she only saw as he turned it around to examine it further, it had OXYMORON written on it in golden letters from the Latin alphabet.

“So that is what they meant...” Arsene mumbled. He returned the hat to Lavenza. “English was never a strength of my other self.”

“Who is this other self you keep mentioning?” Lavenza asked.

“I am certain you have many questions. However, I believe your escape is a far more pressing matter.” Arsene gestured to the cell door. “For your sake, I would recommend unsummoning me before you take your leave. To keep me here longer than necessary must surely be an exhausting task.”

As the remaining adrenaline subsided, Lavenza felt herself struggle to stand. He was right, she had already used up much of her energy. A flash of blue occurred around her. She noticed Arsene disappear into a similar flare of light, and her clothes had returned to normal.

“How did you do that?” Takamaki asked.

“Do you mean how did I make him appear, or how did I make him go away? Truthfully, I know not the answer to either.” Lavenza collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. “Help.”

“Do you at least know how you changed your clothes like that? Your costume was totally cute.”

“I cannot answer that either,” Lavenza said, her face half in the dirt. “Whatever that... power was, I feel I have spent myself using it. Now, please, help. Help me.”

“Oh, right.”

When the golden guard left, he had not bothered to lock the cell door again. The dungeons below Shujin Castle, which were a sprawling stone network carved between sewers and cells, were dotted with the crumbs of destroyed statues. Fortunately for their sake, any drawbridge Lavenza and Takamaki saw were lowered.

Whatever it was that gave Lavenza a weapon and powers, it seemed to have gone away when her clothes turned to normal. Therefore, the two had no choice but to hide whenever they saw guards.

There was only one path they were able to go, and this included crawling through holes in the walls and jumping across boxes floating in the river. This path did not fill them with confidence. The occasional explosion echoed down the hallway, and any guards they saw were going in the same direction as them: toward the explosion.

“How many cells does Sakamoto need?” wondered Takamaki as they drew closer to the commotion. “Especially when all of them are empty like this?”

“You would know the answer better than I. I had only met him today. Did he always have a castle?”

“I don't think so...” Takamaki scratched her head.

A mechanical rumble revved, and another burst detonated nearby. Whatever it was, it was clear they were nearly upon it. The clanging of metal and the grunts of fighting could be heard just around the corner. Whenever another explosion detonated, a flash of blue light filled the hall, casting the shadows of monsters caught in a brawl.

“Shh... Whatever's making that noise is right here,” Takamaki whispered. “Okay, how are we going to handle this?”

“I can think of a few options,” Lavenza began at regular volume. Takamaki put a finger to her lips, and Lavenza remembered to speak more quietly. “We could try to sneak past while they are occupied with each other. However, if they spot us, we'll likely be captured again. If we could've gotten hold of a weapon, then perhaps we could try to fight them off...”

“No way. You saw how big those guys are!” Takamaki whisper-yelled. “Plus, what good is a weapon when they have armor?”

“I noticed my baton was effective against them.”

“But you had that monster helping you,” Takamaki said. An idea struck her. “By the way, any chance of getting it back?”

“Doubtful... I am unsure how he had appeared in the first place. While you were getting hurt, I wanted a way to fight back, a way to save you. Arsene offered me a contract; so long as I gave him my vow, he would help me save you.”

“So you literally made a deal with the devil. Great...” Another explosion occurred as Takamaki thought for a moment. “When you had that power, your clothes changed, remember?”

Lavenza nodded. “Mhmm.”

“And the monster said it was like your rebellion made real, right?”

Lavenza nodded. “Mhmm.”

“Then, if you felt really rebellious, would you get those powers back?”

There was a logic to Takamaki's line of thought; at least, it was as logical as anything else in this castle. “But how can I make myself feel 'really rebellious'?”

“I don't know. Try thinking about something you hate. Or like, someone you want to rebel against.”

Think of something she hated? Lavenza didn't hate Sakura-san, but she was annoyed by how quickly he was to dismiss her for a crime she didn't commit. She was then reminded of Mr. Iwai, who wanted her gone the second she walked in the school. Of course, none of this would have happened if it weren't for that woman who framed her...

“Like that!” Takamaki cheered.

Once again, Lavenza was in the prison-guard-plus-coat outfit. She reached to her face and felt the mask there. Without thinking, she knew how to bring back Arsene. “Persona.”

The mask burned in her hands, and she could sense Arsene's presence behind her. “I have been summoned yet again.”

“Now we can fight them.”

“Not us,” Takamaki clarified, “just the monster. I still don't have a weapon, and you're like half my height and a third theirs!”

Both Lavenza and Arsene were annoyed by her comment. Arsene articulated his issue. “Perhaps you had not heard earlier; I am Arsene, a gentleman thief, not some petty monster.”

Lavenza held her baton clearly for Takamki to see. “I have a weapon.”

“I'm not going to use a toddler as a shield!”

“Have you not heard of a human shield?” Arsene laughed. What was it about everything that he found so funny? “It is this purpose she may fulfill.”

“Mhmm. So long as you do not pick me up, I may serve to protect you,” Lavenza said, taking the shield part too literally.

Arsene turned to Lavenza. “And I shall remind you your very will protects you here. It would take more than a single strike of their blades to bring you down.”

“Let's hope we don't need to find out...” Takamaki mumbled. “Okay, is everyone ready?”

Lavenza nodded in agreement, and Arsene followed suit. Without words, she told Arsene to lead the charge. With how strange everything else had been that day, she hadn't even questioned it.

One at a time, Arsene, Lavenza, and Takamaki rounded the corner. In yet another stone hallway in the deepest bowels of the castle was a group of guards. Two gray guards and the golden guard from earlier surrounded a young woman dressed in a black and blue skintight suit. Her outfit had spikes on the shoulders and knees, and a scarf hung around her neck. She wore a pair of brass knuckles over her white-gloved hands.

The woman looked worn out. She was hunched over, panting. Out of the corner of her eyes---which were nearly concealed by the metal mask over them---she seemed to notice the newly arrived trio. “More? There's so many of them...”

The golden guard also noticed them. While none of his veins were visible, they were audibly popping. “Can none of you guards do _anything_ right! Finish her, then _kill them!_ ”

“Niijima-senpai...?” Takamaki muttered.

“Wait... you're...” The woman, who Lavenza assumed was Niijima-senpai, turned toward them. While she took a moment to look at each of them, her attention seemed drawn to Lavenza in particular. “Another Persona user...”

The gray guards melted again. One transformed into a Mad Marsh Horse, a green ghost suspended in midair lacking its hind legs. The other became a Hunting Puss in Boots, a purple bipedal cat in red. Together, they chanted “For the king!”

“Today is your day to die, intruder,” said the golden guard. “Accept it.”

“'Accept it'? No. I've been listening to you ramble and taunt for too long now! I'm _done_ with your threats. Right, Johanna?” Niijima-senpai ripped the mask off her face. It clattered to the floor and burned into a silver motorcycle with a blue face on its front. Wispy, intangible chains fluttered between its tires. The bike charged at her, and she flipped midair before landing in its seat.

“Where'd she get a bike!” Takamaki asked.

“Perhaps it shares the same origin as Arsene,” Lavenza guessed.

“That is the level of flare I shall be expecting from you, at minimum,” Arsene told Lavenza, pointing at Niijima-senpai.

Niijima-senpai revved the engine, then rushed at the enemies. She drifted and bashed them with her back tire. As they fell back, she took a stop beside Lavenza and Arsene. “So you're a Persona user, too? Try to keep up, we're going full throttle!”

She revved the engines again. An unnatural blue glow surrounded the Mad Marsh Horse. The unstable energy combusted around it, overwhelming it with the power of a concentrated nuclear explosion. The monster melted away as the attack dissipated.

“An impressive display,” Arsene began, “but our own shall eclipse yours.”

That surprised Niijima-senpai. “Did your Persona just talk?”

“If that is unusual, then we will need to discuss it when the opportunity arises.” She pointed to the Hunting Puss in Boots. “Here goes. Kneel!”

Lavenza pulled on the power again, but still fatigued by her first summoning of Arsene, she did so with less effort. She reached only for the power of _Eiga_. Her Persona obliged and made short work of the enemy.

Now, the golden guard stood alone. Lavenza and Arsene stood at the ready, prepared to attack. Niijima-senpai circled around the guard and cut off his escape route. Both hands on the grips, she revved the engine and told the guard “You're not going anywhere!”

“I have had enough of you. All of you!” The golden guard melted into the floor and emerged as a knight in red armor with horns riding a dark horse. A spear in one hand and the reins in the other, the Guard Captain's glowing eyes shot daggers at the two Persona-users. “Regardless of what that puppet pauper prince says, this is my castle. Mine! _My_ word shall be law...”

Fire generated at the tip of his spear. He snapped his weapon toward Lavenza, and the flame flung off the end. The blaze rushed at her. The fireball knocked her off her feet. “Ahh!”

“Amamiya-san!” Takamaki shouted.

The Guard Captain jumped over Niijima-senpai. He turned back to the three high schoolers. “I will allow your passage out of here, so long as you never return. Such mercy for intruders is unprecedented; do not forsake it.”

The Guard Captain galloped away as Takamaki and Niijima-senpai went to check on Lavenza. “She should be fine, it was only a light attack. Although, she may have been burned...”

“Of course she was burned! Didn't you see the big fire that hit her right in the face!” Takamaki yelled. “That thing was as big as her head...”

Lavenza pushed herself off the ground. “I concur with Niijima-senpai: I am fine. I simply was not anticipating it to use projectiles.”

Arsene began to interject. “As I informed you-:”

“Why didn't you take the hit for her!” Takamaki interrupted.

“Takamaki-san, relax.” Niijima-senpai began to explain. “She's a Persona just like Johanna---my motorcycle. They're a part of us. If she was hit, then Lavenza would have felt it just the same. But, normally she wouldn't be able to talk to anyone else.”

“You are correct that I am a Persona, an other-self, but there are a few inaccuracies with your statement.” Arsene crossed his arms. “First of all, I am not Lavenza's other self. However, so long as my own is...indisposed...I have agreed to serve as her mask. It is likely this irregularity which allows us, thou and I, to communicate. Secondly, my other self and I are male.”

“That's...not how Personas work. I don't think I've heard of anyone using someone else's Persona...”

“Then tell me, Makoto, how much do you know of Personas aside from your own?”

“You're the first I've seen, but I've read some of Dr. Isshiki's research, and...” Niijima-senpai paused. “Wait... How did you know my name? I-I never said it.”

There was hesitation from Arsene. “It had slipped out earlier. I merely remembered it. Now, to the topic at hand: these circumstances are far from normal, but so too are those which had separated me from my other self.”

“How did you get separated?” Niijima-senpai asked.

“Who is your other self?” Lavenza asked.

“What's going on?” Takamaki asked.

“I am certain such questions will be answered in time, but perhaps we should focus our efforts on our escape. I doubt the Shadow will honor his offer if we wait too long.”

“You know it's called a Shadow, too,” Niijima-senpai noticed. “How much do you know about the Metaverse?”

“Possibly more than you.” Arsene chuckled.

“Yeah, well, we don't know much at all!” Takamaki added, referring to Lavenza and herself.

“Indeed. You two have been conversing without us using particular terminology. It has been difficult to follow along...” Lavenza trailed off, not making eye contact.

“We can figure everything out tomorrow,” Niijima-senpai said. “For now, we need to get out of here and get to school. I have volunteering today and-:”

“Seriously?” Takamaki asked. “We're stuck in a crazy castle and all you can think about is school?”

“You know, I've been in these places before!” Niijima-senpai countered. “But after today, I'm probably not going to do it before school again. Sis is going to be so upset when she finds out I was late...”

Niijima-senpai used her Persona to heal the three of them, and Lavenza unsummoned Arsene. Just as before, her rebellion outfit went away afterward. Takamaki tried asking more questions, but Niijima-senpai ignored them so she could focus on navigation. As the golden guard promised, they were allowed to leave; any guards they saw on the way paid no mind to them, even if they made a sound, even if they were seen.

At the castle's gates, Niijima-senpai explained how to return to reality. “Okay, I don't have time to get into where we are or how you got here, but to get out, back to the real world, you need to return to where you were when you first entered. Just retrace your steps before you got to the castle; you would've felt a headache when you entered, if that helps narrow it down.”

“Aren't you coming with us?” Takamaki asked.

“My entrance point was just over there,” Niijima-senpai pointed to a spot around the corner. “And I _really_ need to get to school.”

Niijima-senpai summoned and started up Johanna again. Before she drove off, Takamaki said “Wait. Can you at least get our tardies excused? Shouldn't be a problem for you, Miss President.”

She looked at Lavenza. “Today was going to be your first day, right? I'll tell them the trains were hectic today, and you tell them the same thing. You were late because of the subway, understood?”

“Shouldn't we tell people about this castle?” Takamaki asked.

“I'd advise against telling anyone about this place. Like I said, we can meet up and discuss this tomorrow.” Before there was any chance to object, Niijima-senpai rode off with her motorcycle.

Following her instructions, Lavenza and Takamaki were able to return to the real world, the purple sky becoming a its usual blue. To Lavenza's irritation, her phone made noise _yet again_ as they exited the weird castle-world. It sounded like words, but she wasn't able to catch the exact message over the other sounds of the city.

While the two believed they returned to reality, they had no way of knowing until they saw the school. Leaning against the sign to Shujin Academy, with a stick in his mouth, was Mr. Iwai. He removed the sucker from his mouth when he saw the two. “So you decided to show up after all, huh?”

“I am very sorry, Mr. Iwai,” Lavenza apologized. “The subway system has been harder to navigate than I anticipated, and the train schedule is still in disarray from the crash a couple days ago.” Technically the truth, even if it was only part of the story.

“Really?” Mr. Iwai asked. He turned his gaze to Takamaki. “And what about you? You should know your way to school by now.”

“Uh, I was trying to help her, but somehow I managed to get us even more lost.” Takamaki's tone didn't sound convincing. Lavenza hoped she would stop talking soon. She didn't. “You know how, like, when you do things all the time, it's automatic? But when you actually try to think about it, you have no clue what you're doing? Yeah... it was kind of like that...”

Mr. Iwai shook his head. “Y'know, if the school president didn't just show up dealing with the same issue, I would've thought you guys were pulling my leg. I guess I'll overlook this for you, Takamaki-san...”

“If it helps, Mr. Iwai,” Lavenza began, “we do not intend to pull any of your limbs: neither your arms nor your legs.”

“Uh, right...” Mr. Iwai struggled to determine if Lavenza was joking or not. “You're not off the hook though, Amamiya-san.”

“What?”

”Remember when I said you had two chances? Well, now it's one. Don't waste it.” Mr. Iwai started walking inside. “Now c'mon, I was supposed to talk to you when you got here. Meet me in the faculty office.”

Mr. Iwai started walking inside, and Takamaki yelled after him. “Wha- but it's not her fault! That's not fair!”

He stopped and sighed. His shoulders slouched, he mumbled “A lot of things ain't fair...”

It was lunchtime when Lavenza and Takamaki walked in. Students milled about the halls, but all heads turned toward them as they passed. And they talked. Alone, each was only a small whisper, but together they made a series of noise. Waves of chatter. A bombardment of overstimulation.

“It's the transfer-”

“She's short-”

“-shorter than Isshiki-”

“She doesn't look dangerous...”

“I heard she's not even old enough to be a second-year.”

“Why'd they let her skip years?”

“Is that allowed?”

“I hear that's how she gets you.”

“Amamiya?”

“I bet they'll send her back to-”

“-prison-”

“-elementary-”

“-makes you think she's harmless, then bam!”

“-bites you if you get close.”

“The guy she attacked-”

“Amamiya?”

“-died-”

“-put in a coma-”

“-still hospitalized-”

“-never walk again-”

“Amamiya?” Lavenza felt a hand on her shoulder. It belonged to Takamaki. Lavenza lowered her hands from her ears. She looked at her companion. “You walked by the faculty office. It's right back there.”

“Thank you. It would seem I missed it.” Lavenza was about to turn around when Takamaki grabbed her arm again.

“Wait,” she started. “Um, I'm still really confused about what happened earlier, and I'm not sure if any of that was real, but... thanks. I mean, you probably could've just ran out without me.”

“I cannot sit idly by as those around me are hurt. Not again.”

“Oh! One more thing. Don't let the rumors get to you, okay... I still get a lot of them, even now.”

The whispers hadn't stopped. “I shall try to keep that in mind.”

When Lavenza entered, there were already a dozen other people. Most were students talking with their teachers. Fortunately for her, it seemed they didn't notice her. Save for one teacher in a black sweater. He heard the door open and got up to greet the transfer student.

“So, late on your first day.” Mr. Iwai's arms were crossed. “You're lucky I believe in second chances. If not, you'd've already been gone.”

“Wouldn't attending Shujin already be my second chance?”

“Maybe for you, but it would've been you're first chance that I'd seen.” Mr. Iwai grinned. “Although, if you're so excited to get expelled, I could just kick you out now.”

“That would be-:”

“Relax, I'm just messing with you. But you might want to learn when to keep your mouth shut. You really questioning a second chance?”

“I just...” Lavenza wasn't sure how to finish her sentence.

“Anyway, I see you've already met Takamaki-san. I don't know if she told you, but everyone's already heard about your record.”

“She had not, but the students in the halls made no effort to hide their knowledge.” Lavenza couldn't help but feel disappointed. She was under the impression that information was confidential.

“Obviously, they weren't supposed to know about that. We also weren't gonna tell them your age. As you probably heard, knowing how young you are only helped the gossip spread faster. We only would've told them that if someone tried hitting on you. They'd back off real quick after that...”

“Ah, because people are less likely to attack someone younger than them?”

“No, I mean hit on as in... Nevermind. Somehow, word got out, and after that newspaper club member---well, sole member---found out, she couldn't help but write an article on it.” Mr. Iwai paused to think for a moment. “Anyway, lunch is about to end and class is about to start. Because of the subway crash a couple days ago, school's ending early today, so you'll be free to go after fifth period. Follow me, I'll take you there.

“This is the new transfer student,” Mr. Iwai announced to the class. “She's a little late today because...we thought it would help to give her extra time to figure out the subway system on her first day. Would you like to introduce yourself?”

“My name is Lavenza Amamiya,” she said with a curtsy. A dark-haired girl with red glasses in the second row shot up a hand.

Mr. Iwai shot her down. “Now is not the time for questions, Suzaki-san.”

“I was just wondering if she would be willing to corroborate the article I wrote about her.” The girl called Suzaki pulled out a small notepad and a pink mechanical pencil. She hungered for an answer.

After one sentence, Lavenza didn't like Suzaki. She must have been the newspaper club member Mr. Iwai told her of, the one who spread her record and age to the school. “I have yet to read your article, but from what I have heard, I am doubtful of its accuracy.”

“You've heard of it...” Suzaki wrote something down. “But you also haven't read it yet.”

“Enough,” Mr. Iwai said. “Put that away. It's time for class, not an interview. Amamiya-san, there's an empty seat over there behind...oh, Sakamoto-kun.”

“Heh,” Sakamoto chuckled. He sat...incorrectly. His chair was leaned back, and his feet were propped on his desk. If he wasn't careful, he might get mud on the mess of papers Lavenza could only assume were notes. “Don't sound too excited, teach.”

“Be quiet. And sit up straight.” Mr. Iwai groaned.

Even in the classroom, the students loved their rumors. While much quieter, so to not be noticed by the teacher, the students were discussing their hypotheses about the new “delinquent” transfer student.

“I heard assault was all they could pin on her, but she'd done a bunch of other stuff, too.”

“-breaking and entering-”

“-shoplifting-”

“-drug trafficking, at her age!”

“-she's crazy-”

“I saw her with Takamaki. What if she's her... ya know... k-i-d?”

“Oh, I knew she was a slut, but good god Takamaki! Got any other kids?”

“-kidnapping-”

“This is supposed to be a prestigious school, not a fucking daycare!”

“-homicide-”

“-extortion-”

“-manslaughter-”

“Her 'cute little girl' act reminds me of that one anime.”

“You mean that gory one about the psycho loli?”

“-blackmail-”

“-murder-”

“Quiet, she might hear us!”

And all that was just on her way to her desk.

“If that's enough chitchat,” started Mr. Iwai, “I've got a class to teach.”

That managed to shut them up. For now, at least.

Lavenza got out her school supplies and tried to focus on Mr. Iwai's lesson. It wasn't easy. Somehow, the silence was louder than any whispers.


End file.
